Shell Drives Sustainable Energy Solution at Shell E4 Demo Day in Bengaluru

After a successful first edition in 2018, Shell returned with its second edition of Shell E4 Demo Day, the largest Energy Entrepreneurship Conference in India on July 16, 2019 in Bengaluru. The event included a unique gathering of energy focused startups along with the attendance of Arvind Tiwary, Chair, IoT Forum, TiE and Subhashini Chandran, EVP and Managing Director – India at Xynteo. The day also witnessed the graduation of 10 startups which were selected by Shell for incubation at the Shell Technology Centre Bangalore in January 2019.

The 10 startups which include Mobycy, RightWatts, Ziptrax, igrenEnergi, TresMoto, Manastu Space, AutoVRse, LogisticsNow, Maximl and iGarage, operate on diverse domains and backgrounds. These startups have interesting business models and differentiated product offerings like Battery Management, Digital - AR/VR, Mobility Solutions, Logistics, Energy Management, Operations Efficiency and Energy IOT Applications.  While a number of these startups are working towards a pilot with Shell businesses, some others are closely working with Shell to co-create customer solutions.

Like last year, Shell E4 continues to bring together technical, financial and technological expertise to help India move a step closer to its desired energy efficiency targets.

Speaking on the occasion, Sada Iyer, Shell Technology Centre Bangalore Leader, said, “At Shell, we constantly strive to strengthen our commitment to partner energy entrepreneurs and take steady steps towards India’s transition to a sustainable tomorrow. We are glad to announce the graduation of the second cohort of the E4 programme and we wish each of the graduating start-ups success in their journey towards a better future. By mentoring these start-ups, we have nurtured and enabled the young energy entrepreneurs to bring innovations in the Indian energy sector. We are hopeful that the next year will see even more diverse energy start-ups striving towards an advanced and sustainable ecosystem with Shell E4.”

With an overall approach to nurture a culture of open innovation, through various programmes like Research Connect, Shell Technology Ventures and Shell E4, Shell endeavours to support, engage and empower start-ups at various stages of their lifecycle. Going forward the programme has an interesting growth journey. Following the larger energy focused cohorts, Shell will also be empowering startups under specific themes and sub-sectors and on Monday announced that the 3rd cohort of the E4 programme will focus on digital startups and the 4th cohort will focus on the theme ‘Future of Mobility for India’. The registrations for the 4th cohort are open from July 15 – October 15, 2019.

James Unterreiner, General Manager, Shell E4  Start-up Hub, said, “Keeping in mind the idea behind introducing Shell E4, we have and shall keep identifying and engaging with start-ups who have the talent and vision to innovate technology that will further accelerate India’s transition to a sustainable energy future. On behalf of Shell, I congratulate each of the start-ups under the second cohort of Shell E4 and wish them the very best in their journey ahead.”

Launched in 2017, Shell E4 programme aims at playing a prominent role in accelerating technologies that are fit for India’s energy transition. Shell Technology Centre Bangalore is integral to Shell’s core ambition of providing cleaner energy solutions, for India and the world.

One of the company’s three global innovation hubs, the centre, houses the Shell E4 startups at a vibrant co-working space for six months. The startups are offered a seed funding of USD 20,000 each and access to:

Prototyping laboratories for product development and testing
Bootcamps aimed at customer discovery and improving the product
Top industry mentors and experts
New markets and interactions with investors and other growth and funding opportunities
Since their graduation last year, the startups in the first cohort have witnessed significant growth in their businesses. A noteworthy example is Detect Technologies who have successfully raised Series A funding of $3.3 million from Tier 1 VCs and their cofounders are featured in the Forbes 30 under 30 in both India and Asia. ION Energy’s advanced battery management & intelligence platform is being used by top tier OEMs and Battery Pack Makers in 10+ countries. IoTrek is piloting with 2 Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) companies at construction job sites in India and commercially launched product for US market; partnering with General Contractors to deploy the pilot projects.

Startups also have the opportunity to work closely with Shell businesses themselves. For instance, Detect Technologies is working on joint R&D projects with Shell. As alumni of the programme, the startups will continue receiving access to the E4 laboratory, in addition to support from the Shell E4 team for Shell deployment opportunities.