How can we take the many exciting clean energy ideas emerging around the country and scale them up to achieve the potential that they promise? A key step involves identifying the most promising ones and helping them accelerate their growth. With the right kind of leadership from initiatives like the Clean Energy Lab, early stage CSOs can get faster traction and scale their ideas.
In 2018, Shakti joined hands with the Indian School of Business to launch the Clean Energy Lab, India’s first incubation program for early-stage CSOs that can create catalytic policy impact in clean energy.
From the very beginning, Shakti and ISB brought together leaders in clean energy and ecosystem builders to create the core design principles of the incubation programme. The stakeholder engagement process, which analysed current innovation capacity and potential for CSO growth in India was critical for building interest and ownership. The result was a tailored incubation plan for nascent CSOs working in the clean energy space.
SusPoT – Center for Sustainability
SusPoT is a non-profit think-&-do tank assisting governments, civil society organisations, industries, the general public and other stakeholders in developing inclusive sustainability strategies and implementing action plans towards achieving a climate-neutral India by 2050.
“The Clean Energy Lab helped us to align our passion for sustainability-oriented policy research with India’s clean energy funding landscape. We received direction on developing sustainable fund-raising strategies. In fact, we received our first independent project funding right after our year-long incubation period with the Lab.”
The Batti Ghar Foundation
Palak Agarwal spent several years in Orissa working to create an energy access ecosystem for some of the state’s most interior, rural villages. Enthused by the easy embracement of technology, she co-founded the Batti Ghar Foundation to promote sustainable technology innovations and entrepreneurship.
“I applied to the Clean Energy Lab with the idea to create a framework for preventing the early loss of solar systems and for managing end-of-life solar PV systems in formal and informal markets. At the end of the incubation period, I was able to successfully pursue corporate sector organisations interested in investing in our work.”
Climate Collective Foundation
Climate Collective is a non-profit focused on empowering entrepreneurs throughout the Global South by building and strengthening, local climate startup ecosystems by bridging the gap between the development and private sectors. It focuses on the areas of climate change and circular economy.
“Although the majority of our work revolves around running climatetech startup accelerators, we have been able to develop and enhance our research capabilities. In 2021, we launched a report in with the India Impact Investors Council titled Early-stage Climate-tech Startups in India: Investment Landscape Report 2021.”
Bask Research Foundation
Working out of Rajasthan, Bask Research Foundation is a human-centric research and policy advocacy initiative that strives to balance the dialectic of access to reliable and affordable energy as a fundamental right and climate action as a paramount responsibility.
“The Clean Energy Lab provided opportunities to network and engage with leaders, institutions and donors in India’s clean energy and climate policy space. Our Mentor, Professor Ashwini Chattre’s sessions on the subject continue to shape our research and advocacy strategy even till today.”
GridLabs Research Foundation
GridLabs Research Foundation seeks to catalyse sustainable transitions by transforming policies, processes and technologies using evidence-based research and enabling solutions. GridLabs believes that for a transition to be sustainable, it should be financially viable, environmentally mindful and socially just.
“The year-long incubation period with the Clean Energy Lab helped us to revisit, introspect and improvise the fundamental ideas regarding GridLab’s institutional philosophy and find our feet as an organisation. It also helped propelled us into the next stage of our growth.”
Read more about the Shakti-ISB Clean Energy Lab here