The founders of the technology claim that a West Bengal startup has launched a device that can generate oxygen from water with the flick of a switch. They said the device “OM Redox”, developed by Solaire Initiatives Pvt Ltd, was incubated at the Webel-BCC&I Tech Incubation Centre here, providing pure water oxygen.

The startup’s co-founders, Dr Soumyajit Roy and his wife, Dr Pei Liang, claimed on Thursday that the machine is nothing more than a profound scientific innovation, producing oxygen of a higher purity than that normally obtained from concentrators 3.5 times.

The device was selected by the Department of Biotechnology for demonstration and launch on the tenth day of its inaugural Biotech Expo 2022.

“Pressure swing adsorption, used to produce oxygen, works by liquefying air, while concentrators work by concentrating the air using a compressor and then passing it through a catalyst. In both processes, oxygen is produced from the air. Our technology is alternative technologies,” said Roy, a professor at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata.

He said their innovation is called aerodynamically coupled water oxidation via an electrocatalytic reaction (Power), where the life-saving gas is produced from the water. The machine is one of the featured products in a book by Union Science and Technology Minister Dr Jitendra Singh to mark the 75th anniversary of independence.

“The technology has been patented and approved by the WHO and the European Compliance Committee,” he claimed, adding that the pair of scientists were discussing licensing, manufacturing and marketing the device with various organisations.

“The product is a sleek white pine wood box, weighs 8kg, provides oxygen at the touch of a switch, runs on electricity, and comes with a 3.5-hour battery backup,” said Pei Liang, MD, Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China.

The device is easy to use and scale up, she said in a project jointly organised by West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Ltd (Webel) and the West Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

“We are actively considering proposals to manufacture and sell oxygen units. We are positive about the technology and are impressed with its simplicity. Girls or boys can operate the device. Given the progress the startup has made, the device is expected to Commercialisation will take place within the next three months,” said Sunrita Hazra, Managing Director, West Bengal Electronics Industries Development Ltd (Webel).

The Incubation Centre, an initiative jointly launched by Webel and the West Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has incubated around 54 companies over the past few years, including around 18 entities currently in the pipeline, said Kalyan Kar, the unit’s mentor.

Of the companies that have completed the incubation process, 10 to 12 have reached a commercial status, he said, adding that several companies are entering the centre from second and third-tier cities in the country. The participation of female entrepreneurs is also important.