Shell Selects 8 Startups For the Second Cohort of Its E4 Programme

Riding on the success of the first cohort of the E4 (Energizing and Enabling Energy Entrepreneurs) programme in 2018, Shell has announced its second cohort of start-ups under the E4aegis, to further strengthen its position as a partner of choice for energy-sector entrepreneurs in the country. After rigorous examination and evaluation of hundreds of startups, eight startups have been selected to be incubated at the Shell Technology Centre Bangalore (STCB). The companies selected in the second cohort are diverse in backgrounds and domains, which include Battery Management, Digital – AR/VR, Mobility Solutions, Logistics, Energy Management, Operations Efficiency and Energy IOT Applications with interesting business models and differentiated product offerings. Each start-up has a strong connect with Shell’s businesses and will play an integral role in fostering the development of technologies for current and emerging operations at Shell.
Shell has successfully ramped up its E4 programme in India. From offering a single track for early stage start-ups in 2018, the E4 programme now offers five tracks in 2019, namely:1) Growth track (early/mid stage start-ups); 2) Scale up track (mid/late stage start-ups); 3) International track (foreign start-ups entering India); 4)Women Entrepreneur track and 5) Focus track bringing together groups of start-ups in key areas such as E-Mobility, Digital, Renewable Energy, Waste to Fuel, among others.
Speaking on the occasion, Nitin Prasad, Chairman, Shell Companies in India,said,“After a successful cohort-1 of the E4 programme, which graduated during our Shell E4 demo day last year, we are happy to announce that eight start-ups have been selected as part of the second cohort. We are scaling up by launching five tracks, to accommodate around 30 start-ups annually. Launched in 2017, the objective of the E4 programme is to play a key role in accelerating technologies that fit with India’s energy transition and the businesses operating in the country. By partnering with a diverse set of energy start-ups across the entire value chain, we aim to give back to the ecosystem by becoming the ‘partner of choice’, leading the energy transition in India.”
These start-ups will be incubated at a vibrant co-working space for six months at STCB, one of Shell’s three global innovation hubs. Subsequently these startups will graduate from Shell at E4 Demo Day – India’s largest entrepreneurship event held exclusively for the energy sector where the Shell E4 companies showcase themselves to key stakeholders in the energy start-up ecosystem.
In February 2018,Shell selected the first cohort of five start-ups –Detect Technologies, ION Energy, IoTrek, Trashcon and Ossus Bio-renewables. These companies are working on a diverse range of solutions, including real-time pipeline monitoring, creating safer and smarter infrastructure and outdoor work sites, automating segregation of municipal solid waste, recovering green chemicals from waste water and building energy storage systems, and infrastructure for electric vehicles. The start-ups are successfully integrating technologies like IoT and Artificial Intelligence within their core products. These startups, which graduated in September 2018, will continue their partnership with Shell through various collaborations for the development and growth of the energy sector in India.
The startups under the second cohort will undergo an intense acceleration program providing:

• Expert Sessions – One-to-many sessions followed by one-on-one interactions to define action plan for the growth journey.
• Executive Series – Successful entrepreneurs and industry leaders will have candid conversations with the program cohort, sharing their journey and experiences.
• Founders Social – Every month cohort founders will interact with a curated set of interesting entrepreneurs and investors at an informal setting.
• Mentoring- dedicated mentor who will guide the startup throughout their program journey and beyond.   Access to Shell experts and partners for industry knowledge and SME.
• 20k in funding

About Cohort 2 Startups:
MOBYCY
MOBYCY is helping solve India’s last mile connectivity problem during daily commutes between home and office by providing specially designed electric scooters – Zypp; and cycles which can be found on the Mobycy app and unlocked by scanning a QR code to start the ride. Their proprietary keyless lock solution can convert any bike or scooter into a smart scooter and they already have 200K + users registered on their app.
RIGHTWATTS
RightWatts has developed an IoT platform for improving energy management and predictive maintenance of industries and critical buildings. Their platform brings a mix of modern tech, OTAs, full remote management and high-modularity to customers accustomed to monolithic solutions; the platform determines avenues for achieving 10-30% operational efficiency with direct financial correlation to production losses and energy wastage.
ZIPTRAX
Ziptrax aims to provide low cost, infinitely serviceable battery energy storage to the masses by re-purposing Li-ion batteries for 2nd use applications such as E-mobility and Energy Storage. Based on Ziptrax’s proprietary Machine Learning technology, product hardware, intelligent plug-and-play SaaS, Ziptrax Batteries provide benefits of Li-Ion Battery but at the price of a lead acid Battery.
igrenEnergi
Viability of EVs is limited by price and performance of batteries. igrenEnergi has developed a breakthrough Battery Management System which extends EV viability, by improving battery performance and enabling beneficial usage models. igrenEnergi’s BMS uses proprietary deep-tech innovations which combine advanced power electronics, edge-computing algorithms and IoT + cloud- based intelligence. There unique approach to managing mismatch between cells and modules of a battery enables potential 20-40% improvement in range, cycle life, and efficiency of batteries.
TRESMOTO
To accelerate the adoption of EV shared mobility and enable riding without the hassles associated with EVs, TresMoto has developed smart, connected, purpose-built motorcycles and swapping infrastructure for niche markets.  They offer unique business models, provide battery packs, battery swapping services and all other vehicle ownership requirements like Insurance, regular service, roadside assistance and consumables in one monthly subscription. Their bikes are 40% lighter, lower priced than competitor EVs in the same class, offer Zero charging down time via battery swapping and provide a dashboard for repairs and upgrades in a gamified manner.
MANASTU SPACE
Satellites currently carry a highly toxic and carcinogenic propellant which will be banned by 2021 internationally. Manastu Space has designed a green propulsion system consisting of hydrogen peroxide based green propellant, engine associated with it and catalyst providing 40x less toxicity, 25% higher performance, resulting in up to 30% cost savings for satellite manufacturers.
AUTOVRSE
AutoVRse helps enterprises develop VR/AR experiences used for design reviews, as sales tools, in experiential marketing and for virtual training. They provide premium VR/AR content with industry best turnaround times by leveraging workflow with automated 3D model optimisation, proprietary lighting workflow and photorealistic library of materials and textures. Customers include firms like Bosch, John Deere, Fidelity and Abbott across India, Singapore, Australia, Germany and USA.
LOGISTICSNOW
LogisticsNow is building the Digital Backbone of global Logistics to help customers develop a stronger technology enabled transportation and logistics business. Their initial focus is on emerging markets like India, where there are significant challenges in terms of lack of business visibility, utilization, transparency and payments. LogisticsNow provides advanced analytics, leading to better fleet utilization, service and cost savings.
Source: BW Disrupt