Clearbot, a marine tech start-up based in Hong Kong, is gearing up to introduce a new generation of larger solar-powered autonomous boats to enhance its efforts in cleaning up polluted waters in India. The company’s latest fleet of self-driving electric boats is set to debut in March, with each capable of collecting approximately 500kg of plastic waste and other debris from the ocean. This marks a significant increase in capacity compared to Clearbot’s current robotic cleaners, which are already operational in the seas and lakes of India.
Founded by graduates from the University of Hong Kong in 2019, Clearbot aims to revolutionize the marine services industry. According to Utkarsh Goel, co-founder and chief technology officer of Clearbot, “We want to build these boats that do this dirty, dirty job that is happening with [manned, diesel] boats around the world and automate them and make them more sustainable.”
Clearbot’s journey began as a student project to assist Indonesian surfers in efficiently cleaning up waterways, where locals struggled to manage the influx of waste. This initiative led to a deeper understanding of the global demand for sustainable infrastructure in the marine services industry. Over the past year, Clearbot has deployed 13 boats capable of collecting up to 250kg of plastic waste per day to address projects in Hong Kong and India. These self-navigating electric vessels collect waste from the water’s surface and deposit it in designated areas for collection and recycling.
India, accounting for approximately 13% of the world’s plastics in oceans, presents a significant opportunity for Clearbot. The company conducted a pilot project in September in Shillong, northeast India, demonstrating its ability to collect 600kg to 700kg of waste from a lake within three days. Clearbot also has a project in Bengaluru, southern India. Goel stated, “Most of the growth that our company expects to have is in India. We expect to scale up in India because there is enough demand.”
Clearbot has commenced demonstrations of its new, larger boats for commercial use in India and aims to deploy them within the next year. With an estimated 11 million tonnes of plastic entering the world’s oceans annually—equivalent to one truckload dumped into the sea every minute—the threat to marine ecosystems and human health is substantial, according to the environmental group WWF. Plastics account for at least 85% of total marine waste, as reported by the United Nations.
Oceans play a crucial role in mitigating climate change by capturing carbon dioxide and storing oxygen. They cover over 70% of the Earth’s surface, absorb approximately a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions, and capture 90% of the excess heat generated by those emissions, according to the United Nations. Polluting the oceans not only harms marine biodiversity but also undermines the natural ecosystems’ ability to act as a carbon sink to absorb greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
Clearbot’s use of solar energy to power its fleet of electric boats, rather than diesel, results in zero carbon emissions. Goel emphasized, “There’s a huge potential for disruption in this space because we see that the current boats that are operating for all kinds of marine tasks are very polluting. We want to be the leader that brings in the electric revolution, like Tesla has done for cars.”
Clearbot offers its boats on a rental basis under contract for a fixed amount on a monthly or daily basis. Goel explained, “We do this just like any other marine service – we provide our robots as a service. We’ve generated enough revenue to keep ourselves afloat and keep our business running.”
In 2022, Clearbot embarked on a one-year partnership with Sino Group to clean up the marina at the developer’s Gold Coast residential complex in Tuen Mun. Sino Land, in its 2022 sustainability report, stated that it was the first developer in Hong Kong to provide a test bed for the autonomous cleaning boats.
“We are actively discussing additional collaborations to further enhance our efforts in creating a healthier and more sustainable future,” remarked a Sino Group spokesperson.
In September 2022, Clearbot secured a valuation of US$4 million in its seed funding round, attracting backers such as Alibaba Entrepreneurship Fund, Gobi Partners GBA, and CarbonX Global.
Cindy Chow, executive director of the Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, expressed confidence in Clearbot’s ability to continue making an impact in the marine services industry, stating, “Seeing the way in which they have commercialised their innovative concepts into enterprise graded robots-as-a-service solutions has given us confidence that Clearbot will continue to create impact in the marine services industry.”
(Source: Firstpost | Techiexpert | Gizmochina | SCMP)
