Smart Energy International has dedicated this space to supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem and celebrating champions of innovation. Read up about a selection of highly innovative small ventures from India and Indonesia.
Akhil Aryan, Co-founder & CEO
ION Energy
What is cool about your start-up?
ION Energy aims to create a generational impact by solving the biggest problem of our generation, climate change. As the world accelerates towards zero emissions and renewables, efficient energy storage still remains a question.
This is where we come in, providing companies access to a technology infrastructure that blends advanced electronics and analytics, such as AI, ML, Big Data, with deep domain expertise in energy storage. ION Energy plans to shepherd the gradual and seemingly inevitable shift from fossil fuels to electric energy.
ION Energy offers products and services that help optimize battery performance and enhance lithium-ion batteries’ lifetime value in electric vehicles and battery energy storage systems (BESS). Using our technology, companies can buy or build their own Battery Management System (BMS), which measures cell voltages, keeps balanced charge cycles, and controls safety systems.
This article was originally published in Smart Energy International Issue 3-2021.
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Main area of impact
Electric vehicles (EVs) are the automobile industry’s second coming as they are solely responsible for the sector’s impending transformation into a renewable alternative. India has also shown considerable progress in the EV space.
Today, EV and energy companies worldwide are leveraging our proprietary algorithms for energy assets’ Health Monitoring, Warranty Management, Fleet Management, Predictive Maintenance, Anomaly Detection, Performance Benchmarking, Charger Management, and Energy Demand Forecasting.
ION Energy is a tier-1 supplier to manufacturers like Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor Company, the two major Indian OEMs that have entered the EV segment. Over the last three years, we have become the largest BMS company in India, and over 30,000 vehicles on Indian roads are running on our BMS.
Words of wisdom for other start-ups?
If I were to give one piece of advice, it would be around self-reflection. It is all in you.
Life is happening. All that you have to do is be conscious and self-aware to know that life is happening for us, not to us. So this notion of being able to sit with yourself and ask some very existential questions like: “Who am I?”, “Who do I want to serve?”, “How can I extend the impact for the life of that service?” And whatever it is, the ‘mission of building a sustainable future so that we have a future’ underlies it all. A simple counterintuitive yet intuitive way of approaching how you can do your life’s best work.
Learn more at www.ionenergy.co
Eka Himawan, Co-founder
Xurya
What is cool about Xurya?
PT Xurya Daya Indonesia is a Solar Fintech Platform in Indonesia. Xurya connects the global capital supply with local demand from commercial and industrial customers, and considers itself the market-maker for the renewable energy sector.
We use technology to automate project return calculation. Selecting projects from proposal through to construction and monitoring, through an IoT-based monitoring system and automated maintenance requests
We provide solar lease agreements to enable a transition to renewables without initial investment, with lower tariffs than grid electricity. During the lease contracts, we operate and maintain the solar asset without additional cost.
Main area of impact
We aim to address two key issues that Indonesia is facing. First, the increasing negative impact from climate change due to fossil fuel-based emissions. Solar can play a huge part in reducing such emissions with minimal impact on the environment – solar’s LCOE is dropping in many parts of the world.
Second, Indonesia is still way behind in solar usage with enormous growth potential. Currently, solar penetration is low compared to other surrounding countries in the South East Asian region, and historically there have been few government incentives for solar development. However, grid parity was achieved in 2018, making it possible for positive returns on solar investment to be generated without additional incentives.
Since our establishment in 2018, we have been operating solar rooftop systems in more than 40 locations and are in the process of installing in more than 50 locations around Indonesia. So far, we have been able to reduce more than 17,000 tons of CO2 with these installations.
Words of wisdom for other start-ups?
Money comes as an after-effect of value creation to society, but the reverse does not work. If you give value-add to the society, someone will pay for it.
Learn more at https://xurya.com
Kartik Hajela, Co-founder & COO
Log 9 Materials
What is cool about your start-up?
Energy storage (battery technology) is a key piece in addressing the widely accepted problems of emissions and global warming. Log 9’s technologies provide energy storage solutions for mobility and stationary devices.
Our RAPIDX batteries in mobility applications address the problems of battery degradation, range anxiety, slow charging, limited power output and load-carrying capacity amongst others. The developed batteries have a life of over 15,000 cycles, corresponding to over 15 years of usage.
With already certified less than 3% degradation in the life of a typical last-mile delivery vehicle.
Moreover, the battery can charge/discharge at 5-6C continuously with a peak power of 9C. High power allows quicker acceleration/deceleration and a consistent load-carrying capacity (500kg payload for three-wheelers). Additionally, a two-wheeler battery can be fully-charged in <15 minutes and a three-wheeler in <40 minutes. The battery is quite robust and can function in temperatures from -30 to 650C.
On the other hand, Log 9’s aluminium fuel cell technology is designed and envisioned to pioneer a 100% clean, green and recyclable aluminium-based economy. An aluminium slab goes into the fuel cell, ‘burns’ to produce energy while converting to aluminium hydroxide which can be re-smelted back into aluminium utilising clean energy. An end-to-end zero waste and zero-emission system supporting the circular economy can finally provide a sustainable solution to our energy problems.
Main area of impact
The last-mile logistics is a booming sector owing to the increasing market penetration of the e-commerce, groceries and food delivery industries. India is estimated to have over 200 million two-wheelers and 10 million threewheelers on its roads, most of which are using petrol/diesel as fuel, signifying the immense potential of the EV market in the country.
The adoption of EVs is most appealing for companies possessing a commercial fleet, delivery companies from an operating cost perspective, streamlined routes/end-points (requiring minimal charging infrastructure) and the rather underestimated environmental impact. For instance, there are about 1 million two-wheelers used in the country for making deliveries. Assuming a daily usage of 100km, which is common for any commercial last-mile vehicle, the total carbon emissions of this fleet operation in India alone is more than that of the entire population of countries like Nepal and Mauritius, among many others. Electrifying the same signifies the impact potential of Log 9 Materials.
Words of wisdom for other start-ups
Patience is key to a successful venture. It’s normal to get demotivated with early signs of failure, but if you are solving key challenges in the industry, be patient and wait for the market to align. It requires great belief in the purpose (‘why’) of what you are solving. With a strong belief, you will stand your ground and continue innovating.
Learn more at www.log9materials.com
Are you an entrepreneur or student with an idea for a new innovative clean renewable energy technology?
Apply for the Indonesian Energy Innovation Challenge 2021: https://indonesianenergyinnovationchallenge.com/
The Indonesian Energy Innovation Challenge 2021, co-organised by Energy Investment Management, Initiate Asia and Enlit Asia, provides entrepreneurs and students with a platform to share their ideas and solutions, realize new connections and allow the start of new collaborations.
Have you heard about Initiate!?
Initiate is a global movement that spotlights talent, empowers the next generation of energy entrepreneurs and creates impactful programmes to move the industry forward. To learn more about Initiate and read the latest news about start-ups and small ventures, visit www.initiate-global.com or www.smart-energy.com/initiate
