Tejas Naladala
Founder & CEO
- B.S. Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Washington.
- Roughly ten years in farming and agriculture operations.
- About four years building agri-tech OEMs, and three on cold-plasma and high-voltage electronics.
Chemical-free sanitization for post-harvest fruits and vegetables.
Every packhouse on earth still disinfects produce in a chlorine bath. It is cheap to start, toxic to keep, and increasingly rejected at the border on a residue test. We replace it with plasma-activated water, made on the line from nothing but air and water.
Tejas Naladala
fig: continuous disinfection line, isometric assembly
2 billion tons
of fruits and vegetables are washed every single year.
Sanitization still relies on toxic chemistry that poisons workers and fails residue limits.
fig: produce washed at industrial scale, chlorine bath
The wash line still runs on chlorine.
Residues fail export limits
Chlorine leaves chlorate and perchlorate. One positive test rejects the shipment at the border.
Toxic to workers, costly to discharge
Chronic worker exposure, costly wastewater, toxic byproducts on the food.
No reuse, perpetual spend
Every cleaner alternative is just another chemical you buy forever.
Recent EU RASFF rejections
- 2026.1782Chlorate in broccoliEgypt → Belgiumserious
- 2025.4522Chlorate in cucumberNetherlands → Netherlandsserious
- 2025.3121Chlorate in mango cubesThailand → Germanyserious
- 2025.2604Chlorate in lettuceSpain → Franceserious
- 2025.0317Chlorate in raisinsArgentina → Netherlandsserious
- 2024.8930Perchlorate over limitBelgium → Romaniaalert
fig: third-party certificate of analysis, pesticide residues
We clean produce using nothing but air, water, and electricity.
- No chemical residue
- No toxic byproducts
- No wastewater
fig: electrode array, simulated discharge and field
Ionize air
A reactor ionizes ambient air into reactive oxygen and nitrogen species.
Dissolve into water
A microbubble generator drives them into water, making plasma-activated water.
Spray on the line
PAW is antimicrobial. Nozzles spray it over a conveyor.
In, through, out
Produce goes on one end and comes off clean on the other.
fig: venturi microbubble generator, PAW assembly
detail: venturi section, dimensioned
Better than chlorine, at a quarter of the cost.
Disinfection
Better kill than chlorine.
Shelf life
Produce spoils 3× slower than with chlorine.
Cost
At least 4× cheaper than chlorine.
Safety
Passed genotoxicity and cytotoxicity.
PAW decays back into water and air. So:
- Zero residue
- No worker exposure
- No wastewater
- No procurement cost
fig: drive waveforms, 20 to 35 kV
fig: continuous PAW disinfection line, fabricated
0
peer-reviewed papers
0
patents pending
0
commercial LOIs
0
institutional pilots
- Three years, three publications, two pending patents, one international conference.
- Twelve commercial letters of intent across India and the United States.
- Three paid institutional pilots: University of Wisconsin, CSIR-CFTRI, CSIR-NIIST.
- An enterprise pipeline with global food and irrigation leaders, plus a signed distribution deal.
- An Indian government contract with CSIR-NIIST for commercial units.
fig: optical emission spectra, reactive species
IOP topical review
Design of systems for plasma activated water (PAW) for agri-food applications
J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 57, 493003 (2024)peer-reviewed
Design of a continuous PAW disinfection system for the fresh produce industry
Innov. Food Sci. Emerg. Technol. 97, 103845 (2024)peer-reviewed
Design and construction of a continuous industrial-scale cold plasma equipment
Innov. Food Sci. Emerg. Technol. 97, 103840 (2024)Recognition
- UW Science & Technology Showcase 2026 · Grand Prize and Best Pitch
- Carnegie Mellon Venture Challenge 2026 · 2nd place
- Red Bull Basement · 2nd place
Built by the people who published the science.
Dr. N. N. Misra
- PhD in plasma physics for food science, and one of the most-cited researchers in cold-plasma food science.
- About fifteen years building OEMs for food science, food engineering, and cold-plasma equipment.
- First author on all three R0 publications and co-inventor on both patents.
