MC² Foundation launches accelerator for energy deeptech startups

The MC² Foundation, supported by prominent public sector energy entities, has unveiled an accelerator program called MC²+ Ignite for deeptech startups within the energy industry. The program's inauguration took place at IIT Madras, led by the Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG). MC²+ will operate from Delhi, with regional centers at research and development facilities of the sponsoring corporations throughout India's oil and gas sector.

This structure will give startups access to real-world test sites for evaluating their technologies. The initiative has also formed collaborations with educational institutions such as IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, C-CAMP, and Venture Center, Pune. These partnerships will enable startups to obtain resources, laboratories, and guidance from experts across India.

In total, MC²+ Ignite anticipates enrolling around 30 startups, granting them access to milestone-linked convertible funding of up to Rs 2 crore. The program aims to tackle a significant issue for Indian deeptech and energy startups. While securing early-stage grant funding is relatively straightforward, startups encounter difficulties in accessing operational assets, pilot sites, industry partners, and capital.

MC²+ Ignite intends to resolve this by consolidating capital, infrastructure, technical expertise, and industry connections within a well-structured cohort. During the launch, Neeraj Mittal, Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Chairman of MC² Foundation, emphasized that the foundation was established to assemble technology problem statements from India's oil and gas giants on a unified platform.

This would enable the connection of these problems with academic institutions and startups, facilitating the scaling of resulting ventures on a global scale. The Chairman highlighted the Foundation's objective to eliminate fragmentation, noting that multiple companies were working on identical catalysts concurrently, leading to redundant efforts, investments, and bureaucratic hurdles without direct interaction with the institutions conducting the research.