Energetica India Magazine December 2020

wind in India. We are also in discussion with the Nu- clear Power Corporation of India (NP- CIL) for the development and construc- tion of the biggest nuclear plant in the world, with six EPR units totaling close to 10,000 MWe at the Jaitapur site, Ma- harashtra, India. Additionally, we are currently deploying one of two biggest smart metering contracts in India. This will help provide data supervisory con- trol and management systems, proper installation of 5 million smart meters in the States of Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. Our work will lead to integration of the smart meters with existing billing sys- tem of electricity distribution compa- nies, operation and maintenance for a period of 6.5 years. Our presence in India is part of EDF global CAP 2030 strategy. EDF aims to double its renewable capacity from 2015 to 2030 from 25 to 50 GW and triple its business outside Europe by 2030. Shed some light on EDF’s Pulse Start-up programme in India and oth- er countries? H armanjit N agi : The thinking behind the EDF Pulse Start-up Awards in India or in other countries where EDF launched this initiative, is to build, strengthen, and promote low carbon innovative local players which are fully aligned with the country’s energy challenges. We strong- ly consider that the best results to ad- dress specific challenges are designed in the field. We launched EDF Pulse in France, the UK, Brazil as well as in Afri- ca. Since the beginning of EDF Pulse in 2014, 1,800 start-ups have applied, and more than 60 projects are being sup- ported by the Group. Our Pulse India initiative is part of EDF’s global strategy in India as the challenge aims to meet the country’s energy challenges and build a sustainable and resilient eco- system for the future generations. We count India as one of the main growth countries, essential for achieving two of our strategic goals - tripling our busi- ness outside Europe and doubling our renewable installed capacity worldwide by 2030. EDF Pulse India programme is a way to connect with the extremely cre- ative and inventive Indian entrepreneurs and support them to find potential busi - ness partners for their growth. How can start-ups take benefit of the Pulse India programme? H armanjit N agi : EDF has significant ex - perience in supporting start-ups. In one hand, the contest allowed us to scan and scout dozens of fascinating and innovative projects and we are happy to get the chance to connect with so many incredibly creative companies that have the skills and the capacity to thrive. On the other hand, start-up will benefit from a comprehensive business development support package that will help them move from project phase to commercial rollout. In that way, EDF Pulse India is a win-win initiative for us and for the startups. To nurture and promote these start-ups in their jour- ney we provide them with access to EDF network and expertise to further develop business opportunities as well as our innovation labs and research & development network to gain requisite technical and practical knowledge. We provide the first winner with a cash prize of 20,000 USD and 2nd and 3rd winner with a price of 5,000 USD. What we offer is more than financial support. We believe that our offering is unique as we challenge the ideas and busi- ness models of these start-ups to make them think beyond the current prepo- sition. Additionally, the winners benefit from these opportunities as they get to validate products and test them in live environment, along with customer feed- back and consumer insights in order to enable start-ups to commercialize their products. What is the criterion of selecting start-ups under this programme and what are the plans for the next edi- tion? H armanjit N agi : To select the start-ups, we start with a pre-qualification pro - cess wherein the entity applying for the programme should be a Small & Me- dium Enterprises, founded before 26th April 2020 with less than 500 people. It should be based/Incorporated in In- dia or should have a subsidiary in In- dia with local operational teams as the main shareholder (>50% of the capital). The applying start-up should not have raised more than $5 million and should have a functional prototype that can be demonstrated. Once the start-up clears the pre-qualifying criteria, we begin evaluating them by EDF internal jury members as well Jury members from the Industry in India based on their In- novative solution answering societal challenges, durable and viable busi- ness model, team quality and ecosys- tem connections. I am happy to say that this first edition of EDF Pulse India was a success. We had received more than 80 applications energetica INDIA- December_2020 15 INTERVIEW