Entrepreneur India EV 2025 Focuses on Funding, Collaboration, and Battery Tech

Entrepreneur India EV 2025, the two-day event in Chennai, highlighted India’s strong push towards electric vehicles with a focus on driving the EV revolution faster and smarter. It brought together government leaders, industry pioneers, startup founders, and finance experts.

Opening the summit, Ashita Marya, CEO of Franchise India, said,“The EV shift is no longer a future concept. It’s real, it’s rapid, and it’s irreversible.” She cited India’s booming battery market, projected at USD 27.7 billion by 2028, and a growing EV adoption rate, with EVs making up 4.1 percent of total car sales in May. Her rallying cry was simple, turn conversations into collaborations and ideas into action.

The opening keynote by Tin Hang Liu, Co-founder and CEO of Open Energy, spotlighted the critical role of ultra-fast charging in making EVs mainstream. His session, themed “The DeepSeek Moment for EV Charging,” emphasised that scaling charging infrastructure is as vital as manufacturing the vehicles themselves.

Industry veterans joined a marquee panel on transforming India’s mobility landscape, calling for stronger public-private collaborations. Dr. Anita Gupta from the Department of Science and Technology stressed that innovation should not stay confined to labs but must be accessible at the last mile. “We’re not just imagining the future, we are engineering it,” she said.

Echoing the urgency, Padma Shri awardee Dr. Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Professor at IIT Madras, noted that the real challenge isn’t just moving away from fossil fuels but redesigning systems that don’t waste energy by default. “Replacing petrol with power isn’t the goal, the goal is a smarter, sustainable ecosystem,” he said.

The event witnessed the launch of Frost & Sullivan’s report, 'Transformative Trends in the Indian Electric Vehicle Market – 2025 & Beyond.' Research Director Prajyot N Sathe shared projections that EV sales in India could cross 700,000 units annually by 2030. But he stressed that growth depends on strengthening local supply chains, expanding charging networks, and advancing battery tech.

The event discussed the future of EV charging and the growing role of electric commercial vehicles in India’s shift to green mobility. It also  focussed on finance, funding, and the future of battery innovation. Mahesh Babu, Global CEO of Switch Mobility, kicked off with a keynote titled 'From 2 to 20 Million: India’s Ambitious EV Journey'. He declared that India is no longer adapting to change but leading it. “What we need next is bold execution powered by capital and collaboration,” he said.

A crucial discussion on 'Unlocking the Future of EV Funding' followed, moderated by Vasudha Madhavan, CEO of Ostara Advisors. The panel featured leaders from Astranova Mobility, Shriram Finance, Namdev Finvest, AMU Leasing, and Alt Mobility. Panelists stressed that financial inclusivity and trust are essential to scaling EVs. “We must stop funding balance sheets and start funding intention,” remarked Akanksha Sharma from Namdev Finvest.

Nehal Gupta of AMU Leasing underscored the capital challenge, saying, “Capital is our raw material, yet access to it is still our biggest bottleneck. Building belief in the model is as critical as building the assets.”

A deep dive into battery technology followed, exploring how AI, new chemistries, and regulatory frameworks are reshaping the manufacturing landscape. Guru Punghavan, CEO of Boson Cell, revealed his company’s shift from battery recycling to cell manufacturing, claiming their lithium-ion cells could potentially undercut Chinese costs, an absolute game changer for India’s EV ecosystem.

The two-day summit closed on a high note, reinforcing that India’s EV journey is more than just a trend, it’s a full-blown movement backed by policy, powered by innovation, and fuelled by finance. Entrepreneur India EV 2025 made it clear that the future of mobility isn’t just electric, it’s collaborative, scalable, and inevitable.