Ashwin Raikar is managing director at Nauvata Energy Transition Enterprise Private Limited (NET Enterprise). He began his professional journey in 1998 at Tata Research Development and Design Centre, Pune, and subsequently worked with companies like Robert Bosch India, Kyocera Wireless India, Kyocera Telecom Research Centre in India and the US. During 2005-06, he founded Silicon Designs to provide engineering services to oil and gas companies. Later, in 2008, he incorporated Nauvata Engineering Private Limited (NEPL). In 2015, he acquired Litwin PEL, a 100-year-old French company, to enter the Middle East and Africa markets. In 2023, NEPL was renamed NET Enterprise to cater to energy transition opportunities.
“At heart, I am a tech enthusiast. Currently, I am focused on customer acquisition, investments in various technologies, and mergers and acquisitions, which is the most exciting part of my role now,” says Raikar. According to him, carbon capture and storage, and carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery are two technologies that need to be adopted soon to reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions in the oil and gas sector. Mini/Micro-LNG plants can capture and convert flare gas at remote locations to LNG, which can be taken to high-demand areas in iso-containers. This is a proven technology that could be adopted in India for flare reduction and methane capture. Plastic circularity-related technologies that can convert single-use plastics to pyrolysis oil, which can be purified for use as cracker feed in refineries/petchem plants, is another area that downstream oil and gas companies could look at.
Raikar fosters a culture of empowerment and trust in his team, and believes in their capability to deliver. “We have lots of fun together. We celebrate each other’s successes and have a great time as a team,” says Raikar.
“I am enjoying what I am doing currently. My near-term goal is to acquire and grow two companies focusing on full plastic circularity and data analytics platforms. My long-term goal is to see NET Enterprises as a company that makes a difference in the energy transition business globally with a unicorn valuation,” he says.
Raikar is a mechanical engineering graduate from NITK Surathkal (formerly Karnataka Regional Engineering College). In his leisure time, he likes to work out in the gym, read, and play the guitar. He enjoys travelling to both mountains and beaches, as well as off-roading.
