Pune: In a significant step towards strengthening India’s energy innovation ecosystem, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IndianOil), in collaboration with Venture Center and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research–National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL), co-hosted the Pune outreach programme of India’s leading energy innovation accelerator, MC²+ IGNITE.
The programme, titled “Advancing Energy Innovation,” was organised at the main auditorium of CSIR-NCL in Pune under the guidance of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and under the aegis of the MC² Foundation.
The event brought together leading energy companies, research institutions, deep-tech startup founders and members of the scientific community, creating a platform for collaboration and innovation in India’s rapidly evolving energy sector.
Call for Innovation Beyond ‘Make in India’
Delivering the keynote address, Padma Vibhushan Dr R. A. Mashelkar, FRS, described the initiative as both timely and path-breaking.
Highlighting the importance of the collaborative model, Dr Mashelkar said that India’s leading public-sector energy companies are coming together to provide local innovators access to their laboratories, infrastructure, assets, mentorship, capital and market opportunities.
He urged startup founders to develop complete and scalable solutions capable of taking India beyond the vision of “Make in India” towards “Innovate in India” and ultimately “Own in India.”
According to him, India’s ability to build and retain ownership of indigenous technologies will play a crucial role in strengthening the country’s position as a global innovation leader.
IndianOil Opens Infrastructure to Energy Startups
Addressing the gathering, Indian Oil Corporation Limited Chairman Mr A. S. Sahney said that global energy demand is expected to increase significantly in the coming years, while India’s economic growth rate could remain higher than the global average.
He pointed out that energy-sector startups have historically received only a small share of early-stage investment capital, despite the enormous technological opportunities available in the sector.
Through the MC²+ IGNITE programme, IndianOil is opening the doors of its extensive infrastructure and technical ecosystem to entrepreneurs and innovators.
The initiative aims to provide startups with a controlled environment for testing, experimentation and safe failure, enabling innovators to validate their technologies beyond the laboratory stage.
Mr Sahney emphasized that such institutional support is essential to prevent promising technologies from getting trapped in the so-called “Valley of Death”—the difficult phase between laboratory innovation and large-scale commercial deployment.
The collaboration between IndianOil and CSIR-NCL will focus particularly on hydrogen technologies and sustainable mobility solutions, two areas considered critical to India’s future energy transition.
MC²+ IGNITE to Support Up to 30 Deep-Tech Startups
As the flagship accelerator programme of the MC² Foundation, MC²+ IGNITE will select up to 30 deep-tech startups working across seven critical energy-transition themes.
The key focus areas include:
- Hydrogen and Mobility
- AI-driven Subsurface Intelligence
- Next-Generation Drilling
- Bioenergy and Compressed Biogas
- Refinery Process Intensification
- Digital Asset Management
- Open Innovation
Each selected startup will be eligible for up to ₹50 lakh in convertible funding.
In addition, the best-performing ventures will have the opportunity to receive an additional ₹1.5 crore at the Demo Day.
A major highlight of the programme is that startups will not be required to undergo a conventional valuation round for participation. Furthermore, founders will retain full ownership of their Intellectual Property (IP), ensuring that innovators maintain control over their technologies and inventions.
Strong Academic and Innovation Ecosystem
The programme is being implemented by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, with several leading institutions serving as implementation hubs and ecosystem partners.
These include:
- IIT Kanpur
- Venture Center
- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP)
- IIMA Ventures
This multi-institutional approach is expected to create a strong support system for deep-tech entrepreneurs, helping them access scientific expertise, industry infrastructure, funding opportunities and commercial markets.
Focus on Clean Energy and Green Hydrogen
Welcoming the delegates, Dr Premnath Venugopalan, Director of Venture Center, highlighted the recently launched Centre of Excellence for Clean Energy and Green Hydrogen.
He said that the initiative should not be viewed merely as a platform for showcasing startups. Instead, it represents an important opportunity to establish new and stronger models of institutional collaboration between research organisations and industry.
The programme also featured technical sessions by Dr Ashish Lele, Director of CSIR-NCL, and Dr Madhukar Garg, Advisor to the MC² Foundation.
Dr Umish Srivastava, Executive Director-in-Charge (Research and Development) at IndianOil, provided insights into the capabilities and challenges of oil and gas companies in the changing global energy landscape.
Meanwhile, Mr Radhe Shyam, representing the National Green Hydrogen Mission of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), discussed the development of India’s emerging green hydrogen ecosystem and its importance in achieving the country’s long-term clean-energy objectives.
MoU Marks a New Phase of Collaboration
The Pune outreach programme concluded with the formal exchange of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the MC² Foundation and Venture Center.
Under the agreement, Venture Center has been officially recognised as an on-ground implementation node for the MC² Network.
The collaboration is expected to strengthen connections between scientific research, industry infrastructure, startup innovation and investment, providing deep-tech entrepreneurs with greater opportunities to develop, test and commercialise next-generation energy technologies.
A Major Push for India’s Energy Transition
The MC²+ IGNITE initiative represents an important effort to bridge the gap between research laboratories and commercial markets.
By bringing together major public-sector energy companies, scientific institutions, technology startups and investors, the programme seeks to accelerate the development of innovative solutions in areas critical to India’s future energy security.
With strong emphasis on hydrogen, clean energy, artificial intelligence, bioenergy, sustainable mobility and advanced industrial technologies, the initiative could play a significant role in supporting India’s transition towards a more sustainable, technologically advanced and energy-secure future.
The Pune outreach programme has therefore emerged as more than just a startup engagement event—it marks the beginning of a broader effort to build a robust energy innovation ecosystem where Indian technologies can be developed, scaled and ultimately owned by India.
