iCreate Declares Winners of Maiden EV Challenge – EVangelise’21

iCreate (International Centre for Technology and Entrepreneurship), Indiaʼs leading innovation-based start-up incubator announced the winners of its maiden EV innovation challenge – EVangelise. The winners received cash prizes of INR 10 lakh, INR 7.5 lakh and INR 5 lakh cash prizes respectively, besides an assured incubation support of INR 50 lakh each, market connections and industry mentorship. Business Wire India

iCreate (International Centre for Technology and Entrepreneurship), Indiaʼs leading innovation-based start-up incubator announced the winners of its maiden EV innovation challenge – EVangelise. Based on the technological excellence & feasibility, market relevance and real-world implementation of their innovation, Clean Electric Private Limited – for their innovative fast charging EV batteries, Gremot Mobility Private Limited – for their innovation on energy recovery capabilities for EV motors, and Webber Electrocorp Private Limited – for their indigenously designed battery management systems and motor controllers won the top three spots for EVangelise'21. The winners received cash prizes of INR 10 lakh, INR 7.5 lakh and INR 5 lakh cash prizes respectively, besides an assured incubation support of INR 50 lakh each, market connections, and industry mentorship. 

Congratulating the winners and participants, Anupam Jalote, CEO, iCreate stated, “iCreate has now established itself as the place to be for EV innovators and start-ups. When jury members of the caliber of CEO Exide Leclanche, CTO Tejas Networks, CEO Ather and CTO Sona Comstar are surprised and impressed with the depth and quality of the top Indian innovators in the EV space, we at iCreate feel fulfilled – it has been a very long and hard 6 month journey to identify this talent – but we are humbled with their zeal and technical prowess. They will surely accelerate iCreate’s drive in helping India become a knowledge exporter and a super power in the small EV space. My heartiest congratulations to all the winners and we look forward to working with them to help take their ideas into the market for further commercialization.”

Mr. Thyagarajan Iyer, Founding Team Member, iCreate, stated, "Entrepreneurship is a journey in itself and an enterprise will go as far as the entrepreneur wants it to go. What makes me glad is that I have been in this ecosystem for about 20 years now and it is encouraging to see so much passion and drive among young innovators and entrepreneurs in the country today. Many congratulations to the winners and all the teams that have participated in EVangelise'21 and we look forward to supporting them in their journey ahead."

EVangelise saw the participation of 388 start-ups and entrepreneurs from all over the country. Out of these, 10 finalists were shortlisted for their grand finale where they made their elevator pitches to an expert panel of jury members. The jury comprised of industry leaders like Mr. Tarun Mehta, Co-founder & CEO, Ather Energy, Mr. Stefan Louis, CEO, Exide Leclanche, Mr. Kartikey Hariyani, Founder, TecSo CHARGE+ZONE, Mr. Kiran Deshmukh, CTO, Sona comstar, Mr. Kanwar Jit Singh, VP – Technology, Tejas Networks, Mr. Mayur Shah, Head of Business Development, India, Beyond Next Ventures Inc. and Mr. K Thyagrajan Iyer, Founding Team Member, iCreate, Mr. Anupam Jalote, CEO, iCreate. The participants presented their proof of concepts (PoCs) and growth models, followed by a Q&A session. 

The event also saw a special keynote address by Principal Scientific Adviser, Mr. K. VijayRaghavan. Sharing his thoughts on the initiative, Mr. K. VijayRaghavan stated, “I can see the extraordinary zeal in the entrepreneurs of today and to ensure that this is maintained and that they are moving in the right direction, it is crucial to connect them with deep domain experts from national and global ecosystems. Our country’s entrepreneurs need high quality mentorship at the individual level from a scientific and a techno-economic perspective. When it comes to the EV industry specifically, it is crucial that Entrepreneurs connect themselves with global leaders and look at that as an opportunity and create a benchmark. That’s where we need organisations like iCreate that provide start-ups with required access to domain experts technologically, financially and techno economically and connect with industry leaders both nationally and globally.”

The first place holder, Clean Electric Private Limited is a Bhopal based startup. They won the title prize of EVangelsie’21 for their innovative fast-charging EV batteries by using a cooling system. Gremot Mobility Private Limited, a Bangalore based startup, won second place for their innovative idea of adding energy recovery capabilities to EV motors so that energy from braking can be stored, thereby extending the driving range. The third place was taken by Webber Electrocorp Private Limited, a Raipur based startup for their indigenously designed battery management systems, motor controllers and chargers – already in the market, disrupting the supply chains that are currently dominated by China. 

EVangelise was a three stage, international challenge spread over a period of 6 months targeted at start-ups, college students, research institutions, independent innovators and EV enthusiasts who have an innovative idea or even a working prototype pertaining to 2 & 3-wheeler electric vehicle sub-components. The idea of creating a grand challenge unique to the EV segment in India stemmed from the estimated increase in EV adoption in the commercial market. Through this, iCreate is well-positioned to be an integral part in the countryʼs transition to EVs by fostering innovations that are sophisticated, energy-efficient, and sustainable for the Indian market. 

A total of INR 88.5 lakh was awarded to the participants of EVangelise, across four innovation categories and three stages. Disclaimer: This content is distributed by Business Wire India.