Founded in 2019, Clearbot began as a student project to help Indonesian surfers efficiently clean waterways as local residents were unable to deal with the flow of trash. This project led Goel and his co-founder Sidhant Gupta to understand the demand for sustainable infrastructure in the marine services industry around the world.
01:53
Jellyfishbot, a robot that collects trash from the ocean
Jellyfishbot, a robot that collects trash from the ocean
Over the past year, Clearbot has deployed 13 boats capable of collecting up to 250 kg of plastic waste per day to work on projects in Hong Kong and India, Goel said. The self-navigating electric vessel collects waste from the water surface and deposits it in a designated area for collection and recycling.
Clearbot conducted a pilot project in the northeastern Indian city of Shillong in September, demonstrating its ability to collect 600kg to 700kg of waste from a lake there in three days. A project is also underway in Bengaluru in southern India.
“Most of the growth we expect is in India. We plan to scale up there as there is enough demand,” Goel said.
“There is a lot of garbage in India” [in the waters]And this year, we look forward to making a big impact with the products we offer. ”
Clearbot has begun demonstrating a new large boat for commercial use in India and hopes to deploy it next year, Goel said.
According to environmental group WWF, at least 11 million tonnes of plastic enters the world’s oceans every year, the equivalent of one truckload being dumped into the ocean every minute, and is harmful to marine ecosystems and humans. poses a major threat.
According to the United Nations, plastic makes up at least 85% of all marine waste.
Pollution of the oceans not only damages marine biodiversity, but also the ability of natural ecosystems to act as carbon sinks, absorbing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
Clearbot uses solar energy rather than diesel to power its electric boats, so it produces no carbon emissions.
“There is a great potential for disruption in this area because we know that the current boats operating on all kinds of maritime missions are highly polluted,” Goel said. “We want to be the leader in bringing about the electric revolution, just like Tesla did with cars.”
Clearbot rents boats on a fixed monthly or daily basis.
“We do this like any other marine service: we offer robots as a service,” Goel says. “We have continued to operate and have generated enough revenue to continue operating.”
In 2022, Clearbot began a one-year partnership with Sino Group to clean the developer’s Gold Coast Housing Estate marina in Tuen Mun.
Sinoland said in its 2022 sustainability report that it was the first developer in Hong Kong to offer a testbed for autonomous cleaning boats.
“We are actively discussing further cooperation to further strengthen our efforts to create a healthier and more sustainable future,” a Sino Group spokesperson said.
Goel said Clearbot was valued at US$4 million in a seed funding round in September 2022, which attracted backers including Alibaba Entrepreneurship Fund, Gobi Partners GBA and CarbonX Global.
“Seeing how they commercialize their innovative concept as a robot-as-a-service solution for enterprises, we are confident that Clearbot will continue to impact the marine services industry,” said Cindy Chou, executive director of Alibaba. I am convinced,” he said. The Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund said in a statement at the time.