Chennai-based Tan90 Thermal Solutions raises ₹20 crore in Series A

Chennai-based Tan90 Thermal Solutions, a deep-tech start-up focused on sustainable thermal energy management, has raised ₹20 crore in a Series A funding round led by NABVENTURES, with participation from Blue Ashva Capital, Capital-A, and 3i Partners. Using proprietary Phase Change Materials (PCMs) and service models like Cooling as a Service (CaaS), Tan90 helps industries across logistics, healthcare, food, agriculture, and manufacturing adopt energy-efficient, climate-friendly cooling solutions. The firm works with clients like Zomato Hyperpure, Swiggy Instamart and Blinkit among others.

Soumalya Mukherjee, co-founder of Tan90, told The Hindu over phone that the start-up aims to expand its footprint to 10 additional cities in the coming months, with a particular focus on Tier-2 cities. “We are looking at markets like Jaipur, Coimbatore, Mohali and Kochi,” he said. The firm is expanding its footprint in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. A part of the funds will be used to develop new product lines tailored for cold chains, HVACs, and data centres.

All three co-founders — Soumalya Mukherjee, the Chief Executive Officer; Shiv Sharma, the Chief Operating Officer; and Rajani Kant Rai, the Chief Business Officer — completed their PhDs at IIT-Madras. “We were supported by IIT-M during our initial stage. Then we moved out of campus and set up our own manufacturing unit in Chennai. We have manufacturing units in Chennai (5,000 sq ft), Mumbai (10,000 sq ft) and Delhi. We make PCMs,” Mr. Mukherjee said.

Tan90’s innovation is its proprietary suite of PCMs developed in-house, spanning a temperature range from –50°C to +80°C. These materials, which have been granted and filed for multiple patents, function by storing thermal energy in the form of latent heat or hydration energy, allowing them to act as efficient heat sinks or maintain products within a narrow and controlled temperature range. Cooling accounts for nearly 10% of global CO₂ emissions, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), making the need for sustainable alternatives both urgent and economically significant.

Vikas Bhatt, Managing Director, NABVENTURES, said, “Tan90 is driving the next phase of thermal innovation that has the potential to redefine cold chain infrastructure, particularly for agriculture and allied sectors.” NABVENTURES Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NABARD, incorporated as a public company in April 2018 to manage alternative investment funds. The firm invests in agriculture, food, and rural development sectors across India.