NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

A battery made from aloe vera? That’s what Nimisha Varma, a 25-year-old entrepreneur from Jaipur, Rajasthan is exploring through her startup Aloe Ecell. In 2019, after completing her engineering at the Rajasthan Technical University, Varma and her friend Naveen Suman, co-founded the green fuel startup to explore ways to manufacture an eco-friendly battery that is made from natural extracts, replacing the toxic and hazardous components of batteries and is safe to dispose as it does not cause soil degradation or air pollution.

The duo experimented with using plant extracts as electrolytes instead of harmful chemicals. This included testing apple, cucumber, potato, and other natural items for their efficacy as an electrolyte for a 1.5-volt battery. Ultimately after several attempts and experiments, the startup found aloe vera as a good source of electrolytes for these eco-friendly batteries.

In 2019, the team came up with their first prototype of an eco-friendly battery.