Haber, an India-based start-up in industrial automation, inaugurated its new AI Green Chemistry Lab in Pune. The new facility aims to drive innovation in sustainable industrial chemistry. The inauguration was led by Dr. Raghunath Anant Mashelkar, Padma Vibhushan awardee and former Director General of CSIR. It is an advanced facility that expands on the company’s pioneering work in AI-driven chemistry development. 

The lab features an integrated pilot plant, allowing scientists to replicate large-scale manufacturing processes in a controlled environment. This capability enables the testing, validation, and refinement of formulations before market launch, thereby mitigating risks and enhancing scale-up efficiency between laboratory and industrial-scale production. Designed as a next-generation R&D hub, the centre focuses on developing pioneering green chemistry formulations for key industries, including pulp, paper, packaging, tissue, and water treatment. 

“Innovation has always been at the core of Haber,” said Vipin Raghavan, CEO and Co-Founder, Haber. “With this new AI-driven lab and pilot plant, we are shortening the journey from concept to commercial deployment. This facility empowers our team to rapidly prototype smarter chemistries, minimize risk, and deliver solutions that help industries improve efficiency, reduce waste, and scale up sustainable practices faster than ever.” 

In addition to its new lab, Haber has introduced a range of AI-enabled analysers and sensors over the past two years, strengthening its position at the intersection of chemistry and technology. The company is now advancing into next-generation solutions driven by computer vision, aiming to enhancing precision and efficiency in data collection.  

By integrating the latest innovations in sensor design, Haber seeks to achieve more accurate sampling and richer datasets, leading to smarter insights and improved process control. The aim is to build an optimized ecosystem of intelligent monitoring sensors and SaaS-powered platforms, seamlessly complemented by application-specific chemistries fine-tuned for performance. 

This milestone demonstrates how AI can redefine the speed and scale of chemistry innovation. Dr. Raghunath A. Mashelkar commended Haber’s vision, “The energy, curiosity, and drive I see in this team are truly infectious. By harnessing artificial intelligence and coupling it with a world-class pilot plant, Haber is not just creating new chemistries, it is creating new possibilities. This lab shows how India can lead the world in combining science, technology, and sustainability to deliver solutions with global impact.” 

Through this expansion, Haber will enhance its capability to serve core industries such as pulp, paper, packaging, tissue, and water treatment. Haber commits to spending over $10 million towards research and development. These sectors, often dealing with water-intensive and chemical-intensive processes, stand to benefit from Haber's advanced solutions that combine smart chemistry with AI-driven automation.  To date, the company’s solutions have helped industries save over 97,000 MWh of energy, conserve nearly 30 million cubic meters of water, and cut more than 92,000 tons of emissions. These achievements highlight the transformative potential of combining AI with smarter chemistry and the new lab is set to amplify this impact even further.