Shell Launches ‘Scale Track’ for Mature Start-ups under E4 Programme

Shell announces the launch of ‘Scale Track’ under its E4 programme – Shell’s flagship start-up incubation programme. The Scale Track is built for mature, energy-related start-ups who have achieved a product-market fit with their commercial products. The Track is customized to support start-ups in strengthening their strategy and scaling up operations by offering insights from global companies and industry leaders, material resources including full access to their lab at the Shell Technology Centre Bangalore, and access to a focused mentorship programme.

 

Partners on board for this track include ABB, AVL, Indian Angel Network, Catapult, Maharashtra State Innovation Society, The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBSCD) and Ola to name a few. The collaboration between Shell and these partners will allow start-ups several benefits such as access to a wider network and customer base, subject matter expertise, mentorship and investment opportunities which will help them scale their businesses and market share. The current themes for the 2020 Scale Track are focused on the:

 

Future of Mobility with advanced startups in “the mobility space” aspiring to bring forward disruptive technologies, business models and differentiated offerings, and, Energy Management Systems with innovative startups in “the energy management space” ranging from energy auditing to efficiency improvement and overall management

 

After rigorously examining and evaluating numerous applications, 10 start-ups have been selected for the Scale Track this year. Several of these, namely, Energos, IOTomation, LogicLadder, Jal Technologies and APChemi are introducing cutting edge innovation to the energy management space to tackle some of the world’s most pressing concerns such as pollution control, energy distribution & storage and waste management. Other qualified startups like Offgrid, Go GreenEOT, Commutec, eee-Taxi, and Magenta Power are making use of advanced technology and innovative business model solutions such as battery technology, Vehicle-As-a-Service, shared mobility, fleet digitization, EV charging with many focusing on the electric vehicle ecosystem.

 

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Nitin Prasad, Chairman, Shell Companies in India, said that they are happy to welcome a new batch of startups, the Scale Track cohort, as a part of the well-established E4 Programme. Along with their partners, they 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 start-ups will help India in its energy transition journey and contribute to the growing clean energy ecosystem in the country, he said.

 

James Unterreiner, General Manager, Shell E4 Startup Hub said that they 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 start-ups. This is a bespoke program where the start-ups will benefit from a network of industry experts and advisors leveraging Shell and its Partners’ global reach, he said.

Start-ups will be supported to scale their operations through setting up systems and processes; building their teams; and maturing their product in a dedicated environment. The mobility and energy management ecosystem in India can only get more robust with corporates working together on common themes, screening new technologies to help startups grow and scale.

 

The Shell E4 Start-up Hub offers world-class programmes to support and enable energy-related start-ups at various levels of maturity. The programmes are tailor-made in ways that suit the unique nature of energy start-ups, which typically require longer gestation periods.