IESA to host startup fest
The India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) will organise the country's first startup competition on energy storage, electric vehicles, charging infrastructure and micro-grids as part of its fifth international conference and expo, on January 11-12, the industry body has announced.
According to an IESA statement here, the fifth edition of its Energy Storage India (ESI) 2018 event, which includes pre-conference workshops on January 10, would focus on addressing the issues, challenges and opportunities for energy storage, microgrid and electric vehicle (EV) solutions in the country. "ESI 2018 will provide first-class networking event to drive energy storage market expansion in profitable applications," the statement said.
"One of the key attractions of ESI 2018 will be India's first startup competition focused on energy storage, electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, and microgrids." More than 2,000 industry experts, 100 speakers and over 50 exhibitors from 25 countries are expected to participate in ESI this year. The competition will focus on identifying three startups working on energy storage to give them an opportunity to be mentored by top companies in the field. As per the contest conditions, applicant startups should have an annual revenue not exceeding Rs 3.25 crore and should have been in operation for less than five years.
Among the challenges that the conference would focus on is the major gap in energy storage in India and seeking solutions to indigenise the manufacturing in this segment. In this connection, state-run Energy Efficiency Services Ltd Managing Director Saurabh Kumar has recently said the major roadblock in realising the government's vision for electric vehicles is the lack of charging infrastructure.
The government’s National Electric Mobility Mission Plan, launched in 2013, aims at gradually ensuring a vehicle population of about six to seven million electric and hybrid vehicles in India by 2020. The vision enunciated two years ago is for India to have 100 per cent EVs by 2030. India is still at a very basic level on energy storage solutions, while the few existing facilities are hugely expensive.
Meanwhile, solar energy solutions provider Vikram Solar announced on Friday that its Chief Executive Gyanesh Chaudhary has been recently appointed chairman of the renewable energy and energy storage division of the Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers Association.