Transition VC, India’s first Energy Transition-focused VC Fund, is proud to announce its groundbreaking collaboration with IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.), to launch “Net Zero Warriors” initiative. The two organisations signed an MoU in Bengaluru on July 13th, marking a significant milestone in accelerating India’s net zero goal. Under this initiative, Transition VC and IEEE’s structured teamwork will empower a multitude of start-ups, originating from the academic community and young professionals alike, to provide deep-tech solutions across transitioning sectors.

 “Net Zero Warriors” sets out to address the dual concern of environmental preservation and economic growth, in keeping with India’s energy security requirements. India’s economic trajectory necessitates a threefold increase in per capita primary energy consumption by 2047. Therefore, decarbonisation becomes imperative, given India’s commitment to achieving net zero by 2070.

 Country-wide energy transition is a complex challenge with large-scale overhauls required across industries. Some of the examples of energy transitions include Decarbonisation of the Electricity Sector, Electrification of Transportation, Net Zero in Buildings & Industry, and the utility of new energies such as Green Hydrogen. Deep-tech is poised to function as a critical enabler to facilitate these large-scale implementations.

 Through “Net Zero Warriors”, Transition VC and IEEE have set up an indicative roadmap envisioned for four key stakeholders: Engineering Students, Start-ups, MSME Industry, and the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA). The initiative will increase awareness of deep-tech opportunities and motivate young engineers and entrepreneurs to take up a variety of innovation challenges, with clear scalable commercialisation objectives. It will help inventive solutions and determined entrepreneurs through capital support and access to sector expertise and mentorship. In addition, it will also enable the existing engineering businesses to diversify their conventional portfolio with opportunities in deep-tech including AI, Data Analytics, Robotics, Blockchain, Computational intelligence, and Cognitive Computing, among others. “Net Zero Warriors” will foster a platform where all the stakeholders in India’s energy transition journey can contribute towards the development of new standards/regulations, as well as, provide key policy recommendations.

 Commenting on the initiative, Mustafa Wajid, Co-founder & General Partner of Transition VC said, “The battles against climate change are many. The “Net Zero Warriors” program by IEEE & powered by Transition Venture Capital is focused on enabling young engineers, professionals, academicians, startups, entrepreneurs, investors to participate in such battles and create large value. The next generation of unicorns shall emerge from the winners of these battles. Join the “Net Zero Warriors” movement and enable a better world.” 

Both Transition VC and IEEE will leverage their respective expertise, creating a powerful alliance to drive an impactful change. The initiative will capitalise on Transition VC’s energy transition-specific capabilities and competencies, and IEEE’s influential presence across the global engineering community, academia, and its industry connections. It will also benefit from the existing outreach platform of IEEE Climate Change Initiative, to invite industries to collaborate.

Srikanth Chandrasekaran, Senior Director of IEEE India Operations said, “IEEE’s mission is to advance technology for the benefit of humanity. Today the world faces its largest modern-day threat—climate change. We recognize this global crisis and are committed to helping combat and mitigate the effects of climate change through pragmatic and accessible technical solutions and providing engineers and technologists with a neutral space for discussion and action. The aim of this initiative is to concentrate on facilitating the transition to Net Zero in different sectors.”