The majority of the world including India is dependent on crude oils such as Petroleum as well as Diesel for fuel. While we are largely dependent on importing crude oil due to resource deficiency, these crude oils are also notorious for their large carbon footprints. Shweta Viraraghavan conceived the idea to convert bio wastages into sustainable biofuel with a much lesser carbon footprint than petroleum even before her college days, leading to the foundation of a sustainable energy firm, GreenJoules. Working as the CTO of the firm, she is leading the product as well as research team while working constantly on optimizing the fuel quality-based on the research. Under her able guidance, the firm has seen rapid growth over the years and is presently planning for further expansion in terms of facilities as well as manufacturing capability.

In an exclusive interview with Women Entrepreneur, Shweta shares her early education and industry experience, the gamut of roles and responsibilities she is presently taking care of at GreenJoules, and much more.

Shed some light on your early educational journey and the prior industry experience that you bring to the table. What motivated you to establish GreenJoules?

Tell us about the underlying idea behind the company and some of its most unique features.As a result of living in three countries across two continents, I have spent my childhood traveling around the world. I completed my high school in Istanbul, where we coincidentally conceived the idea for GreenJoules before I moved to London for further studies. I completed my Bachelor's in Physics and Philosophy in 2019, from King's College London, and then I went on to do my M.Phil in Physics, from University College London. I started working at GreenJoules even before my college days. So, for me, working and studying both went on simultaneously and influenced each other.

GreenJoules is a green-energy and sustainable material company, where we produce second-generation drop-in biofuels from agro-industrial waste. This waste is used neither as feed nor food. So our product portfolio currently includes a diesel (LDO) fuel and a solid product with applications in construction. The factor that makes GreenJoules unique and truly sustainable is that each product and byproduct has a use and the quality of the fuel is such that no changes need to be made to the machinery or equipment using it. Even the firm's use of a zero effluent process makes it truly special. Presently, the firm is providing service to a number of reputed enterprise customers such as HUL, Cipla, and so on.

What are the various roles and responsibilities you shoulder as the Co-Founder of GreenJoules?

As the co-founder as well as the Chief Technology Officer of GreenJoules, my responsibilities include ensuring the consistency in quality of our product irrespective of the raw materials used and researching new processes and materials to make sustainable materials and green fuels. We have a fully functioning lab that I lead. I am also deeply involved with production, translating the lab findings at a commercial scale and optimizing the yield and quality of fuel. I also take it as my responsibility to make others believe in our products. An important part of my job is to explain the commercial implications of the lab findings to our customers and tweak the fuel to their needs and specifications. We are currently trying to diversify our RM portfolio to make consistent diesel-like fuel in many ways.

What are some of the major challenges you encounter as a business leader, and how do you overcome them?

I guess the biggest challenge I face is to balance the big-picture stuff along with the day-to-day running of the facility. Now more than ever, the renewable energy sector is teeming with potential while calling for rapid expansion. We, at GreenJoules, are experimenting with new processes and raw materials. At the same time, as a leader of a startup, I need to monitor each process minutely while overseeing the plant's operation. So concentrating both on the big picture as well as the smaller picture has been a huge challenge. To mitigate these challenges, I believe, time management is key. I also need to juggle all my roles. Even having an exceptional team that works under me and whom I trust implicitly has been a huge help.

“Making sustainable, high-quality fuels from actual agro waste, such that neither the environment nor companies need to compromise, is a very necessary pursuit”

What are some of the major milestones that you have achieved throughout your professional journey? What has been the driving force behind your success as a business leader?

For me, the very first milestone has been the moment the first tanker reached a customer place in 2019. Since then, GreenJoules has been a witness to several such milestones. The Science and Technology Park, Pune was one of the first to believe in us and decided to be an incubator. Because of the tie-up, we were named as a possible unicorn, which was also a huge milestone. Presently, we are in midst of an expansion and have acquired two new facilities while increasing our monthly production from 100 to 250 KI to cater to a larger customer base, which also has been a huge milestone.

Making sustainable, high-quality fuels from actual agro waste, such that neither the environment nor companies need to compromise, is a very necessary pursuit. We are at the heart of a circular economy system, and the heart can't stop, and that's what drives me.

What would your advice be to young women and girls who also aspire to become business leaders and entrepreneurs in the future?

I will be really happy to have more women in the entrepreneurial business sector. As a woman, your voice is sometimes unheard and credit is taken from you. This is when you need to shout and rise above all the patriarchal structures that are bringing you down. The other advice I would give to young girls is to always empower other women around them. When women help each other, the corporate world will be a bit easier for the next generation.

Shweta Viraraghavan, Co-Founder & CTO, Greenjoules

Shweta is the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Sustainable Energy Firm, GreenJoules. She has done her Bachelor's in physics and philosophy in 2019 and MPhil in physics, both from King's College, London. Apart from ensuring product quality consistency and leading the lab, Shweta is also deeply involved with production while translating the lab findings at a commercial scale and optimizing the yield and quality of fuel.