IIT Madras and Industry Leaders Call for Early-Stage Support to Fuel Energy Start-ups

UPDATE - follow-up to Start-ups need support from ideation stage to drive energy transition: panellists: Green energy start-ups need backing right from the ideation stage to turn raw ideas into workable technologies, speakers said at The Hindu Sustainability Summit 2026 in Chennai on September 23, 2026.

Gaps in Incubation

Speaking at a session titled 'Ideas to Impact: Start-ups accelerating the energy transition', Indumathi M. Nambi from the environment and water resources division at IIT Madras pointed out that very few incubators currently support students at the ideation stage. She noted that students often fail to register with incubators, showing a clear gap in the system. Pre-incubators are necessary to help students build and test ideas. While funding is not a problem for deep tech start-ups, she highlighted that trust in new ideas remains a major roadblock and suggested a doctoral programme in entrepreneurship for mentorship and commercialisation.

Industry and Corporate Role

Pravin Dongre, Executive Director at Indian Oil Corporation Limited, shared that IOCL has funded various start-ups working on clean energy and water, providing support for 18 to 36 months. Projects like eco toilets and nano fillers for oil pipelines have already reached commercial scale. Speakers also urged schools to introduce entrepreneurship as a subject to guide students early on.

Challenges and Testing

Karthika Gopi, founder and CEO of Carbelim, added that reaching net-zero needs many solutions rather than a single fix. Testing new tech in real-world conditions, protecting intellectual property, and scaling up commercially remain tough hurdles. She noted that deep tech start-ups require consortium-based support from both industries and the government to move ideas out of labs.