 "IIT Roorkee Based Startup Wins DRDO's “Dare to Dream 3.0")
The Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) startup Indigenous Energy Storage Technologies Pvt Ltd (Indienergy) has been declared the winner of the Defence Research and Development Organisations (DRDO's) "Dare to Dream 3.0" innovation contest for battery development. The startup works for sodium (Na)-ion battery technology development. The Na-ion batteries are cost-effective and in line with Aatm Nirbhar Bharat's objectives.
Mr Akash Soni, Professor Yogesh Sharma, Dr Nagesh Kumar, and Dr Asit Sahoo, as an Indigenous Energy Storage Technologies Pvt Ltd team, bagged the first prize in the contest. An award of Rs 10 lakh is given by the Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, "Starting from the science of trial and error to mastering cultivation and agriculture, we have understood the science of civilization. But for further progress and achieving new goals, new methods must be employed. And this is what I call research and development towards a better future and an Aatm Nirbhar Bharat."
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Congratulating the winners, Acting Director Professor M L Sharma, IIT Roorkee, highlighted, "Currently TIDES under IIT Roorkee has 119 start-ups and the mindset of the institute and the facilities available in the campus provide a smooth ride from ideation to creation. Moreover, in addition to academic research, the ecosystem of the institute allows for innovation to flourish combined with entrepreneurship.”
Mr Akash Soni, CEO and Co-founder said, "Indienergy is on a mission to develop low-cost, safe, and high-performance sodium-ion batteries. If electric mobility and renewable energy recourse are to be fully utilized, a cheaper battery is the utmost requirement. In the journey of developing game-changing technology, we are delighted to receive the first prize from our defence organizations. Such recognitions and appreciation are the booster and keep motivating us to accomplish our goals.
Last year in the "Dare to Dream 2.0" contest, Professor Sudipta Sarkar from IIT Roorkee was the winner of the innovation contest in the individual category. Also, Log 9 Materials Sci Pvt Ltd, the first startup incubated by IIT Roorkee, had won the second prize in the startup category the previous year.
The Dare to Dream contest was initiated in memory of the former President of India, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, to identify ideas and technologies having the potential for future adoption for Indian defence and aerospace needs. It aims to unearth disruptive ideas and concepts by the DRDO in the emerging technologies by individuals and startups for enhancing defence capabilities.
