Meet the 10 startups in the Shell Scale Track incubator programme E4

Shell India, the local unit of the Netherlands-based Royal Dutch Shell, has chosen 10 startups for the 2020 edition of Scale Track. The energy company aims to help energy-related startups confirm product-market fit and scale their business, under its incubator programme E4. 

The programme will help the selected startups to strengthen their strategy and scale up operations by providing insights from global companies and industry leaders, material resources such as access to their lab at the Shell Technology Centre in Bengaluru as well as access to a focused mentorship programme.

“We believe a collaborative approach between corporates is essential to enhance the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country by linking talent, technology, capital and know-how. The Shell E4 partnerships aim to provide an enhanced value proposition to startups. This is a bespoke programme where the startups will benefit from a network of industry experts and advisors, leveraging Shell and its partners’ global reach,” James Unterreiner, general manager of Shell E4  startup hub.

Companies such as ABB, AVL, Indian Angel Network, Catapult, Maharashtra State Innovation Society, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBSCD) and Ola will be partners in the programme. The collaboration between Shell and these companies will provide startups benefits such as access to a wide network and customer base, subject matter expertise, mentorship and investment opportunities, all of which will help them scale their businesses and increase market share, the statement said.

“We are happy to welcome a new batch of startups, the Scale Track cohort, as a part of the well-established E4 programme. Along with our partners, we believe that these young professionals will reap significant benefits from the programme, which will help them go to the market with a better business strategy and execution capability, leapfrogging their growth. It was a competitive selection process and it was clear that these startups will help India in its energy transition journey and contribute to the growing clean energy ecosystem in the country,”  Nitin Prasad, chairman, Shell Companies in India, said.

Under its E4 programme for energy-related startups, Shell also has Growth Track for startups working on product development and customer discovery, and International Track for international startups looking to enter the Indian market, while Digital Track helps startups with products at a post-minimum viable product (MVP) stage develop or accelerate applications and solutions for the energy and manufacturing industries, gain customers in these sectors, connect with investors and scale up.

In August last year, Shell India invested an undisclosed amount in biomass company Punjab Renewable Energy Systems as part of a Series B round worth Rs 55 crore ( $7.7 million then).

In 2017, Royal Dutch Shell’s Indian unit launched the maiden edition of its pan-India accelerator programme for energy startups. Christened Shell E4 (energising and enabling energy entrepreneurs), the programme was set up to support early-stage, pilot or post-pilot stage startups in the energy space.

Here are the 10 startups chosen for the programme:

Energos: Founded by Rajesh Solanki and Anees Mir in 2010, Mumbai-based Energos helps commercial and industrial customers realise 15%-20% energy savings by adding intelligence to automate and optimise energy flows through edge-deployed self-tuning algorithms. 

IOTomation: Noida headquartered IOTomation, founded by Dharmendra Rathore, improves energy efficiency through the automation of buildings. 

LogicLadder: In 2011, Mayank Chauhan and Atindra Chandel founded Gurugram-based LogicLadder, which provides government-approved sustainability management and pollution monitoring solutions. 

Jal Technologies: The startup provides solutions to measure and monitor air pollution in smart cities and industries.

Go GreenEOT: Divik Ashok launced Bengaluru-based Go GreenEOT in 2011. The company helps business-to-business (B2B) and logistics companies realise reduced costs in last-mile delivery by providing a vehicle-as-a-service model (vehicle, battery, charging and insurance) at a monthly cost.

eee-Taxi: Founded in 2016 by Nishant Saini, Gurugram-based eee-Taxi offers electric vehicles to corporates for employee transportation.

Commutec: The Mumbai headquartered company, launched in 2016 by Randeep Lobana,  helps digitise fleet operators and provides protocol-driven, technology-enabled fleets for corporate employee transportation.

Offgrid: The startup focuses on bringing disruption to the energy storage market through new materials and battery designs.

Magenta Power: Founded in 2017 by Maxson Lewis and Daryll Dias, Mumbai-based Magenta Power provides solar-powered electric vehicle charging infrastructure designed for India’s heat, humidity and usage conditions. 

ApChemi: The company was launched in 2004 by Suhash Dixit in Mumbai and supplies technology and machinery for chemical recycling of end-of-life waste plastic. Its technology can convert waste plastic into oil that can replace crude oil or naphtha.