Indian climate startups are raising billions to transform how the country fights pollution, food insecurity, and energy gaps. India’s climate tech startup ecosystem has crossed $12.8 billion in total funding across 1,583 companies. Here are the startups leading the charge in 2026.
1. GPS Renewables — Turning Agricultural Waste Into Clean Energy
GPS Renewables builds biogas plants that convert agricultural and food waste into bioCNG, biogas, and ethanol. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Bengaluru, the company has deployed plants across India and Southeast Asia. GPS Renewables raised $35 million in a Series C round in 2023. Its technology eliminates stubble burning — one of India’s worst sources of seasonal air pollution — by making it financially rewarding for farmers to sell their waste instead of burning it.
2. Alt Carbon — Enhanced Rock Weathering for Permanent CO₂ Removal
Alt Carbon is India’s first enhanced rock weathering startup. It spreads crushed basalt on Indian farmland, which reacts with CO₂ in rainwater and permanently locks carbon in the soil. The process also improves soil fertility and crop yields, making it a direct incentive for farmers. Alt Carbon sells carbon removal credits to global corporations and has partnered with major agricultural cooperatives across Maharashtra and Punjab.
3. Varaha — Carbon Credits for Regenerative Farmers
Varaha pays Indian farmers carbon credits for switching to regenerative agricultural practices that build soil carbon. Founded in 2022, the startup has raised $33 million and works with over 200,000 farmers across India. Its credits are sold to global corporate buyers including Microsoft and Shopify. Varaha uses satellite monitoring and soil sampling to verify carbon sequestration, making it one of the most rigorous nature-based carbon credit providers in Asia.
4. Exponent Energy — 15-Minute EV Charging
Exponent Energy has built India’s fastest EV charging system, capable of fully charging a commercial electric vehicle in 15 minutes. Founded in 2020 in Bengaluru, the company has raised $65.7 million from investors including Lightspeed and 3one4 Capital. Its e^pack battery and e^pump charging system are designed specifically for Indian commercial fleets including buses, trucks, and three-wheelers. Exponent is solving one of the biggest barriers to EV adoption in India — range anxiety and long charging times.
5. Battery Smart — Battery Swapping at Scale
Battery Smart operates India’s largest battery swapping network for electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers. With over 1,600 swap stations across 50 Indian cities, the startup has raised $192 million from Tiger Global and MUFG Bank. Battery swapping eliminates the need for long charging stops — drivers swap a depleted battery for a fully charged one in under 60 seconds. Battery Smart’s network serves over 50,000 drivers daily and is expanding to 100 cities by end of 2026.
6. Banyan Nation — Premium Recycled Plastics
Banyan Nation is India’s leading plastic recycling startup. It collects post-consumer plastic waste from households and businesses, processes it into premium recycled granules, and sells directly to major FMCG companies including Hindustan Unilever and Marico. Founded in 2013 in Hyderabad, Banyan Nation has raised over $10 million and processes thousands of tonnes of plastic every month. Its technology produces recycled plastic that meets the same quality standards as virgin plastic.
7. Chakr Innovation — Converting Diesel Soot Into Ink
Chakr Innovation has built a device that retrofits onto diesel generators and captures up to 90% of particulate emissions before they enter the air. The captured soot is then converted into ink and paint — creating a revenue stream from pollution. Founded at IIT Delhi in 2016, Chakr has deployed its technology across hundreds of generators in India and the Middle East. The startup has raised $10 million and is expanding into industrial boilers and brick kilns.
8. Orb Energy — Solar for Small Businesses
Orb Energy provides solar power systems and financing to small and medium businesses across India that cannot afford the upfront cost of solar installation. Founded in 2006 in Bengaluru, the company has installed over 100,000 solar systems and serves customers in 12 Indian states. Orb Energy’s pay-as-you-go model makes clean energy accessible to shops, restaurants, and small manufacturers. The company has raised $40 million and is backed by the IFC and Shell Foundation.
Key Takeaways
India’s climate startups are not just solving environmental problems — they are building profitable businesses. GPS Renewables and Varaha are making clean practices financially attractive for farmers. Exponent Energy and Battery Smart are removing the biggest friction points in EV adoption. Banyan Nation and Chakr Innovation are turning pollution into products. Together, these startups represent India’s most credible path to hitting its net-zero targets by 2070.
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How El Niño Is Making India’s Climate Crisis Worse in 2026
El Niño events are intensifying climate stress across India. The 2023–2024 El Niño was one of the strongest on record, pushing India’s average temperatures to historic highs and disrupting the monsoon pattern that 600 million farmers depend on. In 2026, climate scientists are warning that the next El Niño cycle could arrive earlier and hit harder than any in the last century.
El Niño suppresses rainfall in northern and central India during the critical Kharif sowing season, triggering drought conditions that devastate wheat and rice yields. At the same time, it causes extreme rainfall events in southern India — flooding farmland, destroying crops, and overwhelming drainage systems. Indian climate startups are directly responding to this volatility. GPS Renewables and Varaha help farmers diversify their income through biogas and carbon credits, reducing their financial dependence on a single monsoon-dependent crop cycle.
Orb Energy’s solar financing becomes even more critical during El Niño years, when power demand spikes due to heat waves but grid supply becomes unreliable. Battery Smart’s swap network removes the charging infrastructure barrier for last-mile delivery drivers who keep food supply chains moving during climate disruptions. India’s climate startups are not just solving long-term carbon problems — they are building resilience against the near-term climate shocks that El Niño delivers every three to seven years.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What are Indian climate startups?
Indian climate startups are companies founded in India that build technology, products, or services to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to climate change, or restore ecosystems. They operate across sectors including clean energy, sustainable agriculture, waste management, electric mobility, and carbon markets. India now has over 1,583 climate tech startups with $12.8 billion in total funding as of 2026.
2. How is El Niño affecting Indian startups and farmers?
El Niño disrupts India’s monsoon pattern, causing drought in the north and flooding in the south. This directly reduces crop yields, increases food prices, and raises energy demand due to heat waves. Indian climate startups like Varaha and GPS Renewables help farmers earn income from carbon credits and biogas even in poor harvest years, reducing their vulnerability to El Niño-driven climate shocks.
3. Which Indian climate startup has raised the most funding?
Battery Smart leads among the startups featured here with $192 million raised from Tiger Global and MUFG Bank. Exponent Energy has raised $65.7 million, Varaha has raised $33 million, and GPS Renewables has raised $35 million. Across the broader Indian climate tech sector, companies in solar energy and electric mobility have attracted the largest funding rounds.
4. How do Indian startups reduce agricultural waste and pollution?
GPS Renewables converts agri-waste into biogas and bioCNG, eliminating the need for farmers to burn stubble. Alt Carbon spreads crushed basalt on farmland to permanently remove CO₂. Varaha pays farmers carbon credits for regenerative practices. Chakr Innovation captures particulate emissions from diesel generators and converts the soot into ink and paint. Together these startups address both the economic and environmental dimensions of agricultural pollution.
5. What is enhanced rock weathering and which Indian startup is doing it?
Enhanced rock weathering is a carbon removal method where crushed silicate rock such as basalt is spread on agricultural land. As rainwater reacts with the rock, CO₂ is drawn from the atmosphere and permanently locked in the soil as bicarbonate. It also improves soil pH and crop yields. Alt Carbon is India’s first startup to commercialise this technology, selling the resulting carbon removal credits to global corporations.
6. How does battery swapping help reduce carbon emissions in India?
Battery swapping allows EV drivers to exchange a depleted battery for a fully charged one in under 60 seconds, eliminating long charging stops. This makes electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers practical for commercial drivers who cover high daily distances. Battery Smart’s network of 1,600 plus swap stations serves over 50,000 drivers daily, directly replacing petrol and diesel trips and cutting carbon emissions from India’s vast last-mile delivery and auto-rickshaw sectors.
7. Can Indian climate startups help India reach net zero by 2070?
India has committed to net zero emissions by 2070 under the Paris Agreement. Climate startups are critical to this goal because they are commercialising the technologies needed to decarbonise agriculture, transport, energy, and industry. With $12.8 billion already deployed and thousands of companies scaling solutions, India’s startup ecosystem is one of the most active climate innovation hubs in the world. However, reaching net zero will also require major policy support, grid infrastructure investment, and international climate finance.
8. What role do carbon credits play for Indian farmers?
Carbon credits allow Indian farmers to earn income by adopting practices that reduce or remove greenhouse gases — such as no-till farming, cover cropping, and biochar application. Startups like Varaha measure, verify, and sell these credits to global corporations that need to offset their emissions. A farmer earning carbon credits gains a supplementary income stream that is not dependent on the monsoon, making their household more resilient to climate shocks including El Niño events.
9. How is India’s plastic waste problem being solved by startups?
India generates 3.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, much of which ends up in landfills, rivers, and oceans. Banyan Nation collects post-consumer plastic, processes it into premium recycled granules, and sells to FMCG companies as a substitute for virgin plastic. Sampurn(e)arth runs distributed collection and processing hubs in Indian cities. Both companies are proving that plastic recycling can be a scalable, profitable business rather than a charity-dependent activity.
10. Which sectors are attracting the most climate tech investment in India in 2026?
Electric mobility (EVs and charging infrastructure), solar energy, and sustainable agriculture are the three largest sectors for climate tech investment in India in 2026. Carbon markets are the fastest-growing segment, with startups like Varaha and Alt Carbon attracting significant international funding. Waste management and circular economy startups are also gaining investor interest as India tightens its extended producer responsibility regulations for plastic and e-waste.