There are many people and organisations to thank for helping us reach where we are today — on the cusp of scaling up and leading the decarbonisation of marine transport.
Our Investors (Friends and Family)
We are deeply grateful to those who believed in us from the very beginning. A special tribute to the late OV Babu, my brother-in-law, whose influence inspired me to take the path of ships and shipping. Thank you to Jithesh KA, Vidyanand Murunnikara, Hrishikesh Unni, Amita Unni, Mihin Shah, Dhananjay Sandu, Yashodharan Sandu, Niraj Gunde, and Abhishek Kumar Choudhary for your unwavering support and belief in our mission.
Our Mentors and Advisors
To the late Madan L Kochhar, DS Lal, KK Devanandan, VK Mathews, and Raveendranath Kamath — your guidance was invaluable. Thank you for stepping in with both intellectual and financial support when we needed it most. A special thanks to Vedam and Akshay Jain.
Our Financial Partners
We couldn’t have taken on projects larger than our previous year’s turnover without the trust and backing of our bankers: HDFC, SBI, PNB, KFC, SIDBI, and KSIDC – your support was crucial in enabling our growth. In the early part of our journey, Poonawalla Fincorp, IDFC First Bank, and ICICI Bank played a key role in sustaining our momentum. A special thanks to KSUM and the Shell Foundation for their vital grant support.
Our Partners and Vendors
We are grateful to Alten, EVE, and all our vendors who have been instrumental in co-developing solar electric boats, propulsion systems, and ship performance analysis tools.
Our Journey
We began as a design consultancy. Early experiments with solar cruise boats and retrofitted solar fishing boats led us to Aditya, India’s first solar ferry — and the birth of the Navalt brand.
Eight years later, we now have 35 solar electric boats in operation across nine Indian states.
The first decade was about building the market for solar electric boats — I even wrote a book during COVID to help decision-makers choose solar-electric alternatives over petrol and diesel.
Now, we stand at the edge of rapid growth. This year alone, we will deliver more boats than we did in the past ten years combined and to four new countries.
Our Clients
Thank you to the visionary clients who chose to walk this path with us:
- SWTD for believing in solar ferry boats
- MSC for trusting us with the Oceanix ship performance analytics
- Master Shipyard for awarding us our first design project
- LRAJ for backing the Greenship initiative
and a whole list of clients across the world who choose Navalt.
Our Team
To every employee who has been part of our journey — whether for a few months or over a decade — your contribution has shaped Navalt into what it is today. Your impact is deeply appreciated.
Our Institutional Investor – Banyan Tree
Finally, I come to our newest investors — Banyan Tree — who believe in our vision to electrify the oceans and accelerate the maritime transition to sustainable energy.
It all started with a message from Sonakshi Agarwal, and her introduction as a backer of Popular Motors that proved to be the hook. That message led to insightful discussions and meaningful engagements with the Banyan Tree team: Sanjiv Singhal, Rakesh Bhutoria, Ashish Agarwal, Avinash Samala, and Sonakshi Agarwal.
We were also supported by a brilliant set of partners during the process:
- Finlead: Tony Sajan, Saranya S Pai, Sangheetha Prakasan
- JSA Law: Archana Tewary, Savio Tom
- EY: Mithun DSouza, Nitheesh P
- Vivek CS, Girish J
- CAM: Suvojit Halder, Shruthi Ashok, Rahi Dhuvad
What’s Next
As a first step after this investment, Navalt has consolidated all activities — ship design, ship performance analytics (Oceanix), solar electric propulsion systems (Greenship), and solar electric boat manufacturing — under one unified group.
The convergence of vessel manufacturing, energy storage systems, and ship performance analytics for large ships was something we expected a decade from now — but we’re on track to achieve it much sooner.
We are now on the fast track toward our mission: To become the world’s foremost marine technology company, pioneering the electrification of marine transport.
Sandith Thandasherry 