Delhi: IIT graduate Shaivee Malik develops battery cooling for trucks

Shaivee Malik, a 25-year-old IIT Delhi biotechnology graduate, co-founded a company developing a refrigeration system intended to cool truck cargo without leaving a diesel engine running.

Malik founded Yotuh Energy with Vivek Mahindrakar and Dharmik Bapodara in 2022. The three worked together on IIT Delhi’s Formula Student racing team, Axlr8r, where Malik later became associate team captain. The company was registered in Delhi before it joined an IIT Madras incubation programme in Chennai.

Yotuh’s unit uses a lithium-ion battery to refrigerate trucks carrying goods such as fruit, vegetables and milk. The company says it can continue cooling cargo when a truck is halted in traffic, switched off or breaks down. Sensors detect when vehicle doors open and adjust the cooling system.

Yotuh says a single charge runs the unit for about six to eight hours and can cut refrigeration costs by around 75%. It estimates that each unit can prevent three to 36 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year, depending on use.

The company says it initially received family support and government grants before raising about Rs 1.53 crore. It lists distributors associated with Amul ice cream and McCain frozen foods among its customers.