India’s startups produce some winning ideas for the Ennovation Challenge

The winners in the first edition of India’s “Enel Green Power Ennovation Challenge” were announced during the course of the “Virtual Finale Event” on November 11^th, and they offered a selection of exciting ideas. The competition, which was organized in collaboration with Startup India (part of the government’s Invest India project), was a fine example of three different types of organization – EGP, the government agency and startups – working together towards a common goal: the application of sustainability and innovation in the energy sector.

And, when it comes to sustainability and innovation, India, a country where we have been present for just over five years, has immense potential. Its rapid economic growth and demographic dividend present significant opportunities for a renewable energy company like ours, and its ecosystem of dynamic young startups means that there are plenty of interesting solutions in the development phase. The Ennovation (the letter “E” stands for both energy and Enel) Challenge was an attempt to uncover some of them, and it was a huge success in this respect.

The timespan of the competition, from its conception to the announcement of the winners, was almost a year. A special Challenge Team was set up in January as part of the School of Leadership Action Learning Project consisting of a core team of 4 members along with a mentor and it was told to “think outside the box.” To give shape to this concept, contributions were provided by 15 members who came from various groups: EGP’s Indian and international Innovation teams, the School of Leadership ALP Core Team and the Startup India team. Together they established a clear eligibility criteria: all proposals had to be of strategic relevance for EGP, while each idea was to be supported by in-depth research and needed to include a business plan. The ideas could range from the effective use of energy to enhance the quality of life to developing low-cost energy solutions. 

The competition officially opened on July 20^th and entries could be sent in from then until September 25^th. During that time more than 100 proposals were received and the Challenge Team proceeded to select the best five. These were shortlisted for the final, with prizes subsequently going to the first three.

 

A sustainable cleaning system for solar panels

Second runner-up was Photom Technologies, a Gujarat-based company with an attractive slogan: “Let’s Keep the Sun Shining.” Not only that, the Founder and CEO, Himmat Singh, has a “Leaders in Innovation Fellowship” (LIF) from the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering. Photom’s project for the Ennovation Challenge was a waterless robotic cleaning system for photovoltaic panels. Its key objectives are decidedly sustainable: the elimination of both energy loss and water wastage. Photom hope to install the cleaning robots in the equivalent of 5 GW of photovoltaic capacity by 2022, thereby helping to avoid the use of 2 billion litres of drinking water a year and the emission of 300,000 tons of CO2.

 

Solutions to optimize the agrivoltaic

First runner-up was Sunseed APV, who are based in Gurgaon in Haryana. Their project was based on agrovoltaics (agriculture and photovoltaics), an area that is of great interest to EGP. Sunseed’s project involved technology platform for light & microclimate simulations under solar panel shade , Farming models to generate higher yield and lightweight structures that enable synergies between agriculture and solar, thereby improving the return on equity.

 

“We were aware of EGPs Innovability® platform and innovation hubs so we were excited at the prospect of showcasing our innovations to EGP with a view to future collaboration”

Vivek Saraf, CEO & Co-founder, SunSeed APV

 

Artificial intelligence that detects health and safety risks

But the winner was Arcturus Business Solutions, a New Delhi-based company who specialize in using “Artificial Intelligence for real-time detection & vision-based analytics for industries.” Their technology uses CCTV cameras and analytics to detect everything from fire hazards to Health & Safety violations. For the company’s founder and CEO, Swati Tiwari, it was precisely EGP’s emphasis on “the need for innovation in Health & Safety” that attracted Arcturus to the Challenge.

And so there we have it: our Ennovation Challenge produced three great ideas to help accelerate the sustainable energy revolution in India and around the world. Who knows how many more great ideas are still out there?