Venture capital fund Transition VC in collaboration with the startup incubator T-Hub and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) to launch what it says will be India’s first energy transition-focused startup accelerator.
Four to five startups are likely to be part of the first cohort and there are plans to expand it seven to eight startups in subsequent batches of the accelerator. The application process will be announced shortly, Transition VC said on Tuesday (October 8, 2024), in a release on signing of an MoU with T-Hub and IEEE.
T-Hub, the Hyderabad-based incubator that has emerged as a crucial startup ecosystem component, will be the innovation execution partner, playing a key role in structuring and executing the accelerator while also helping startups with research and development as well as product prototyping.
Transition VC will be the funding and market access partner for the startups. IEEE will serve as the knowledge partner, providing startup founders and their teams academic support, access to technical domain experts, skill training, and university network. “This strategic partnership addresses the comprehensive incubation required for deep-tech startups, empowering them with an all-round support,” the Transition VC said.
The accelerator will focus on startup solutions across key energy transition areas such as decarbonisation, electrification of transportation, long duration energy storage, power electronics, net zero and new energies.
2 CoEs proposed
The programme is part of the broader Net Zero Warriors initiative of Transition VC and IEEE aimed at addressing climate change through cutting-edge engineering solutions. Two centres of excellence (CoE) will also be set up in India, with work on one of them at T-Hub already underway. These CoEs will provide a platform for startups, entrepreneurs and students to collaborate, innovate and scale technologies that contribute to energy transition and climate sustainability.
“India’s startup ecosystem is facing a shortage of energy transition and deep-tech hardware startups. Building hardware products in deep-tech requires significant investment in R&D and prototyping, which is often a deterrent for many engineers. Through our partnership with IEEE and T-Hub, we aim to create a supportive ecosystem for entrepreneurs...”, Transition VC co-founder and managing partner Mohammed Shoeb Ali said.
The accelerator is a call to action for innovators in the energy transition sector, said T-Hub CEO M.Srinivas Rao.
Published - October 08, 2024 12:45 pm IST
