Shell E4 strengthens bond with deeptech startups in India

Shell E4, the startup accelerator programme of the global energy giant Shell in India, has enlarged the deeptech ecosystem in the country as it now sees participation of startups from Tier II locations and entrepreneurs emerging from the academic world.

Established in 2017, Shell E4 has had eight cohorts under this programme with participation of over 40 startups in total, which are largely from the energy domain and a few in the digital space.

In an interaction with EnterpriseStory, Debasis Goswami, Head - Shell E4 Startup Hub, said, “We are seeing more outcomes coming in from the deeptech space as of now, which was maybe not the case nine or ten years back.”

These kinds of outcomes for Shell E4 are being seen across multiple fronts. Firstly, the reach in terms of deeptech startups has gone beyond the usual metros, with participation coming from Tier II and beyond. In its latest cohort, it has selected a startup from Jharkhand.

Secondly, there is a deeper engagement with the academic institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Science (IISC), which has led to researchers coming out with entrepreneurial ventures.

Lastly, Shell E4 has also expanded its partnerships with startup bodies in the States of Tamil Nadu and Kerala to build an ecosystem around deeptech.

According to Goswami, Shell E4 strongly believes in having a holistic approach while engaging with these deeptech startups, which include many aspects like mentorship, creating product pilots, access to a wider network of customers and most importantly, investment.

Here, the presence of Shell Technology Centre in Bengaluru, the R&D unit for the company, is also playing a key role as the selected startups get access to these lab facilities.

“We have seen many of the startups having done their technology validation or first pilots at our campus,” Goswami remarked.

Over the last eight years, Shell E4 has also seen several positive changes. One of which is the emergence of new venture funds dedicated to the space of energy and climate. Shell has also increased the investment it makes into each startup from $20,000 to $100,000-$500,000.

Also, there is a push from the governments to support deeptech startups. Coupled with this, corporations are also actively looking at clean energy solutions.

These have led to the enlargement of the deeptech ecosystem in the country, as these kinds of startups require a longer gestation period. For Shell E4, the validation of its efforts can be seen in the continuing relationship with its portfolio of startups.

Goswami said that over the last eight years, almost 80% of its startup portfolio is still active. This has got to do a lot with the selection process, where it picks around seven to eight startups out of 300-plus applications. Further, there is a close alignment with the businesses of Shell.

“We believe in having a long-term relationship with these startups and have a customised playbook for each startup,” he said.

As appeared in YourStory