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MC Foundation, IIT Bombay and the Society for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (SINE), IIT Bombay, have signed a tripartite agreement to provide energy-sector startups access to research facilities, funding, mentors and opportunities to test their technologies in real-world projects.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed during the Mumbai City Connect of MC Ignite, an energy innovation accelerator, hosted by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) at IIT Bombay on Tuesday, according to an ONGC press release. The collaboration seeks to strengthen the interface between industry, academia and startups, ONGC said, adding that innovators will get access to research and development facilities, laboratories, academic and industry mentors, funding, market access and opportunities to undertake pilot projects. As a partner public sector undertaking in the MC ecosystem, ONGC will work with IIT Bombay and SINE across seven energy innovation areas, including AI-driven subsurface intelligence, drilling technologies, hydrogen and mobility, bioenergy, refinery technologies and digital asset management. ONGC said the collaboration will bring together industry problem statements and emerging technological solutions and is expected to help promising technologies move from research and development to validation, pilot projects, deployment and commercial scale. The broader MC Ignite accelerator plans to support up to 30 early-stage startups. Selected companies will be eligible for up to Rs 50 lakh in convertible funding and another Rs 1.5 crore linked to milestones, taking the potential support to Rs 2 crore per startup. The programme is aimed at helping energy startups overcome the gap between developing a technology and deploying it commercially by providing access to technical expertise, research infrastructure, funding and industry pilot opportunities. MC Ignite was formally launched at IIT Madras on August 19 by Petroleum and Natural Gas Secretary Neeraj Mittal. The Mumbai programme followed a Pune City Connect held on September 3 as part of its multi-city outreach. Applications for the inaugural cohort will remain open until September 15. (ANI)
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