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					</table><p><a href="https://gailonline.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GAIL (India)</a> has announced an increase in its startup investment fund from ₹1 billion (~$11.53 million) to ₹5 billion (~$57.67 million). The increased fund will be deployed to nurture promising startups with focus on clean energy, renewables, energy storage, electric mobility and digital transformation.</p>
<p>GAIL launched ‘Pankh’ in July 2017 to support promising start-ups. Since its inception, the initiative has invested in 36 startups across multiple sectors, including compressed biogas (CBG), electric mobility and environmental solutions.</p>
<p>GAIL&#8217;s renewable portfolio is approximately 132 MW, comprising 118 MW of wind and 14 MW of solar energy. The company is also pursuing opportunities to produce and market CBG from organic waste and exploring sectors, including ethanol and hydrogen, for new ventures.</p>
<p>Besides sourcing renewable power from open access, the company is setting up 20 MW solar projects to meet the energy requirements of its electrolyzer project in Vijaipur, Madhya Pradesh.</p>
<p>In October 2024, GAIL <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/gail-invites-bids-solar-project-in-madhya-pradesh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invited</a> bids for the design, engineering, procurement and supply, construction, erection, testing, commissioning, and operation and maintenance of a 7.75 MW grid-connected floating solar project at Vijaipur in Madhya Pradesh.</p>
<p>In its annual report 2023-24, GAIL said the installation of a rooftop solar system in its Pata plant in Uttar Pradesh reduced GHG emissions by 199 tCO2e in FY 2023-24.</p>
<p>The company’s electricity consumption from renewable sources increased from 92,182 gigajoules in 2022-23 to 1,16,872 gigajoules in 2023-24.</p>
<p>GAIL aspires to achieve 100% reduction in Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2035 and 35% reduction in Scope 3 emissions by 2040.</p>
<p>Last January, GAIL and ethanol producer TruAlt Bioenergy <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/gail-trualt-announce-72-million-cbg-jv" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> an investment of $72 million to set up CBG projects through a joint venture. GAIL would participate in TruAlt’s joint venture company, Leafiniti Bioenergy, the owner and operator of one of the country’s biggest CBG plants.</p>


GAIL Expands Clean Energy Startup Investment Fund to ₹5 Billion


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					</table><p>Electric vehicle (EV) charging startup <a href="https://www.exponent.energy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Exponent Energy</a> secured $13 million in its Series A funding round. The funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners saw participation from existing investors like YourNest VC, 3one4 Capital, and AdvantEdge VC.</p>
<p>The amount raised will be used to scale up Exponent Energy&#8217;s EV charger network to 100 locations per city, starting with Bengaluru. A part of the funding will be used to streamline the company&#8217;s battery pack production.</p>
<p>Commenting on the funding round, Arun Vinayak, Co-founder &amp; CEO of Exponent Energy<strong>,</strong> said, &#8220;We&#8217;ve really enjoyed thinking aloud with the Lightspeed team in all conversations leading up to the investment. We believe we have a great partner in them as we simplify energy for EVs &#8211; for an all-electric future. Our technology already delivers a seamless charging experience, and with our vehicle partnership in place, we&#8217;ll scale up our production and network presence to 100 charging location points per city to deliver freedom &amp; flexibility to our customers. This funding now allows us to execute even faster and make 15-min rapid charging the new normal.&#8221;</p>
<p>Exponent Energy recently <a href="https://mercomindia.com/daily-news-wrap-up-intel-to-raise-green-bonds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">partnered</a> with Altigreen Propulsion Labs, a commercial EV manufacturer, to unveil the fastest charging electric three-wheeler that rapidly charges from 0-100% battery capacity within 15 minutes. The Exponent-enabled Altigreen neEV HD has an 8.19 kWh energy pack – a proprietary battery by Exponent.</p>
<p>The vehicle is expected to deliver a city drive range of 80-85 km and charge up in 15 minutes at the Exponent&#8217;s energy pump network. This would be achieved by the EV pump delivering 600A of current, which is 15x industry standard, while managing individual cell characteristics, including thermals, to ensure safety, long battery life, and performance consistency even at 50 degrees Celsius.</p>
<p>Founded in 2020 by former Ather Energy executives Arun Vinayak and Sanjay Byalal, the startup claims that it has built a battery pack and charging station called the E-pack and E-pump that together can unlock 15-minute rapid charging for EVs. The battery pack utilizes regular lithium-ion cells while maintaining a cycle count of 3,000. According to the company, this is made possible by their proprietary battery management system and charging algorithms, layered on top of their unique E-pack design.</p>
<p>Previously, Exponent Energy had <a href="https://mercomindia.com/exponent-energy-5-million-pre-series-a/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raised</a> $5 million in its Pre-Series A round from prominent investors such as Motherson Group, a leading global supplier of automotive components, YourNest VC, 3one4 Capital, and AdvantEdge VC.</p>


EV Charging Startup Exponent Energy Raises $13 Million in Series A Funding Round

<p>Electric vehicle (EV) charging startup <a href="https://www.exponent.energy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Exponent Energy</a> has secured $5 million in its pre-series A round of funding. The round was led by YourNest VC, with participation from 3one4 Capital, AdvantEdge VC, and automotive component maker Motherson Group.</p>
<p>The company will use the funds raised to begin commercial operations and scale it across multiple cities, starting with Bengaluru from early 2022. The company is also looking to hire people across its product, engineering, and deployment teams.</p>
<p>The Bengaluru-based company plans to collaborate with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the cargo vehicle space and deploy a citywide charging network with partners.</p>
<p>Founded in 2020 by former Ather Energy executives Arun Vinayak and Sanjay Byalal, the startup claims that it has built a battery pack and charging station called the E-pack and E-pump, that together can unlock 15-minute rapid charging for EVs. The battery pack utilizes regular lithium-ion cells while still maintaining a cycle count of 3,000. According to the company, this is made possible by their proprietary battery management system and charging algorithms, layered on top of their unique E-pack design.</p>
<p>“Motherson coming on board adds immense value to scale with respect to OEM relationships and manufacturing partnerships. Given the demand witnessed for our rapid charging technology in the logistics space, we prioritized closing the Pre-Series A to enter the market by early 2022,” said Co-founder and CEO Vinayak.</p>
<p>According to a <a href="https://mercomcapital.com/product/9m-q3-2021-funding-ma-report-storage-grid-efficiency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> by Mercom Capital Group, smart charging companies received the highest VC funding in the first nine months of 2021, with $690 million in 12 deals. The companies with the smart charging technology have attracted investments from oil &amp; gas and utility majors, including bp, Gulf Oil International, and Iberdrola.</p>
<p>The lack of adequate EV charging infrastructure in public places is a significant hindrance to the growth of EVs in India. As of March 2021, the country had only 1,800 charging stations. Independent studies have projected the demand for public EV charging stations at 2.9 million by 2030.</p>
<p>Recognizing the need for EV charging infrastructure, Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services Limited, <a href="https://mercomindia.com/empanelment-tender-ev-charging-point/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> an expression of interest to empanel EV charging point operators across India. CESL has also <a href="https://mercomindia.com/cesl-empanel-consultant-ev-charging-infrastructure/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invited</a> e-bids to empanel independent third-party validation and verification agency for its EV charging infrastructure project.</p>
<p>BSES Rajdhani Power, the electricity distribution company in Delhi, has <a href="https://mercomindia.com/bses-rajdhani-empanel-private-ev-charging/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invited</a> proposals to empanel vendors for deploying EV charging infrastructure across various sites in Delhi.</p>


EV Charging Startup Exponent Energy Raises $5 Million in Pre-Series A Round

<p><a href="https://www.yesbank.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">YES Bank</a>, an Indian private sector bank, has launched a cleantech accelerator platform named ‘Yes Scale’ in association with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to help start-ups working in the fields of energy efficiency, waste management, and water management.</p>
<p>Through this platform, the bank will provide affiliated start-ups with access to technology, mentorship, funding, and market entry. Affiliated start-ups can receive up to ₹2 million (~$0.029 million) as a pilot grant or for proof of concept.</p>
<p>“This is fully in line with the bank&#8217;s vision since inception &#8211; which was to cater to the &#8216;sunrise sectors of India&#8217;s economy&#8217; using knowledge banking to deliver impactful ecosystem solutions,” said Rana Kapoor, MD &amp; CEO of Yes Bank, in a media release.</p>
<p>The program will focus on multiple sectors like smart cities, clean technology, agricultural technology, life sciences technology, educational technology, etc.</p>
<p>YES Bank has been one of the most active financial institutions in the country over the past few years at encouraging investment into the renewable energy sector.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/yes-bank-5-billion-funding-by-2030/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In January 2018</a>, YES Bank announced it would provide up to $1 billion (~₹64 billion) to finance solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in the country by 2023 and $5 billion (~₹320 billion) by 2030 at the International Solar Alliance (<a href="http://isolaralliance.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ISA</a>).</p>
<p>It has already signed five solar energy co-financing letters of Intent (LoI) with: <a href="http://www.herofutureenergies.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hero Future Energies</a> (up to 1.5 GW of capacity); <a href="http://www.greenkogroup.com/">Greenko Group</a> (up to 10 GW of capacity); <a href="https://amplussolar.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amplus Solar</a> (up to 1 GW of capacity); <a href="http://www.jakson.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jakson Group</a> (up to 1 GW of capacity); and <a href="http://tatapower-ddl.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited</a> (up to 10 MW of capacity). All of the solar projects are in India and slated to be completed by 2023.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/yes-bank-eib-renewable-energy-financing-program-india/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Previously</a>, the bank collaborated with the European Investment Bank (<a href="http://www.eib.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EIB</a>), the European Union’s non-profit long-term lending institution, to formulate a renewable energy financing program for India.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.com/yes-bank-signs-green-finance-charter-with-fmo-deg-and-proparco/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In June 2017</a>, Yes Bank, FMO (the development bank of the Netherlands), DEG (the development bank of Germany), and Proparco (the development bank of France) signed a Green Finance Charter for green financing in India.</p>


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