Taking the opportunity to pay tribute to Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, the former President of India and visionary scientist, Shri. Rajnath Singh, Minister of Defence, had launched the third iteration of the Defence Research and Development Organization’s nationwide contest “Dare to Dream” on 4th October 2021 in New Delhi. By identifying startups and providing them with a platform to showcase excellence and innovation, the campaign hopes to support the vision of “Atma Nirbhar Bharat”.
As a result of its development of Sodium-ion battery technology, Indi Energy, headquartered in TIDES Business Incubator, IIT Roorkee, has been awarded the First place in the startup category of the competition. A breakthrough sustainable energy solution based primarily on bio-waste found in the country along with Sodium salt precursors will dramatically reduce the need for imports and dependency on lithium, cobalt, and nickel (components used in making Li-ion batteries).
The CEO and Co-founder of Indi Energy, Mr. Akash Soni, expressed his gratitude for the felicitation by stating: “Indi Energy is on a mission to develop low-cost, safe and high-performance Sodium-ion batteries made from locally available abundant bio-waste and Sodium salt precursors, thereby reducing India’s heavy reliance on scarce elements such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel that are critical elements in making Li-ion batteries. The Indi Energy’s novel and proprietary technology would also enable indigenous manufacturing of high-performance battery cells in India without depending on foreign imports for critical raw materials that goes into battery cell production”.
A significant part of DRDO’s mission is to develop novel technologies that will enable our nation to compete with technologically advanced countries. Building a strong, self-sufficient India requires the collective desire and efforts of the entire nation, which Professor Yogesh Sharma (IIT Roorkee), Indi Energy’s Co-founder and Head of Research & Development, firmly agrees with. IIT Roorkee’s support for Indi Energy in its quest to develop Sodium-ion cell technology has also been described as a blessing and an honor by him. Further, he shared that to make India self-sufficient in the energy storage sector, Indi Energy aims to create a local supply chain for the components required for the production of Sodium-ion batteries.
A remarkable feat achieved by Indi Energy demonstrates the organization’s commitment to empowering energy independence with innovation that is sustainable and scalable. It will undoubtedly serve as a source of inspiration for many others as we go about creating and sustaining the new worldwide identity of our nation.
