Electric vehicles have begun to penetrate the Indian market with the government’s support. Several initiatives have been taken by the Government of India to promote the manufacturing and adoption of electric vehicles in India.
In view of India’s commitments to combat climate change, alternative means in the transport sector are needed to fuel India’s rapid economic growth, urbanization, and travel demand as well as its energy security. With innovative pricing solutions, appropriate technology, and support infrastructure, electric mobility offers a viable alternative for addressing these challenges and has therefore been on the radar of the government of India.
Uber’s vision for the Future of Mobility in India is Shared, Multimodal and Electric. Uber is partnering with Startup India and iCreate on a ‘Green Mobility Innovation Challenge’ that is calling for new ideas to drive adoption of electric vehicles in India.
The challenge invites submissions from individuals or startups that focus on innovation in the following three areas: two and three wheelers, the accessibility of charging stations and their ease of use to address range fatigue, as well as potential partnership or financial models that can improve EV uptake in India.
Support domestic OEMs (Go-to-market strategy) – 2 Ws and 3Ws
Taking the adoption trends into account, eMobility has been penetrating the commercial and fleet markets of which, 2Ws and 3Ws are most likely to experience success at the forefront. This gives rise to a necessary innovation drive amongst domestic OEMs of 2Ws and 3Ws that are green in nature. Two important aspects are the ability to charge the vehicle at home/conveniently and the cost parity i.e. (1-1.6x) vis-vis ICE bikes.
Product Innovation to address range anxiety
A crucial factor in deciding whether to opt for an EV, or which EV to go for, is the range of the vehicle. How far the car can travel on a single battery charge is important both to the rider as well as the passenger of the vehicle. Optimizing battery performance and adequate charging infrastructure are some areas that tend to address this problem statement. What can be the technological interventions to address concerns for drivers and riders who opt for EVs?
Partnership Models
In the EV space today, OEMs, entrepreneurs, innovators and financiers are coming up with various levels of solutions that tend to simplify the adoption of EV by the masses – EV grid integrations, plug and play battery infrastructure solutions, and charging stations to address a few. We are looking for business and financing models, and processes that have the capability to bring together discrete EV solutions and innovations, to form a product that can be easily adopted and implemented, specifically in areas of transport and shared mobility.
Awards:-
Fiscal Incentives
Total Cash grants from Uber worth 75 Lakhs INR, among the top-05 winners, along with incubation support from iCreate for a period of 06 months.
Non-Fiscal Incentives
Top 10 winners would receive :
Two months of mentorship from Uber and iCreate
Potential Opportunities for research collaboration or paid pilots
Access to co-working spaces, and rapid prototyping facilities
Procedure Post Submission
There would be two rounds of of evaluation.
Assessment Round: Screening of applications against assessment criteria
Final Pitch: Shortlisted Startups will be invited to pitch to a Jury Panel comprising experts from Uber, iCreate, domain experts, business specialists, and seasoned external experts.
Deadline:- 30-10-2021
