MC²+ launches ignite programme to back deep-tech startups in India’s energy sector
MC²+, a brand of MC² Foundation, has launched MC²+ Ignite, a sector-specific accelerator programme designed to support deep-tech startups building technologies for India’s energy sector. With the vision and drive of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG), MC² Foundation has come up strongly in a very short period of time with the launch of MC²+ Ignite. The coming together of all the CMDs itself shows how deeply MoPNG is invested in this initiative.
On August 19, Neeraj Mittal, Secretary, MoPNG, along with the CMDs of all Oil & Gas companies and the Chairman, bp India, launched MC²+ Ignite at IIT Madras.
Addressing the gathering, Neeraj Mittal, Secretary, MoPNG, and Chairman, MC² Foundation, said that MC² Foundation was set up to pool the technology problem statements of India’s oil and gas energy majors onto a single platform, connect them directly to academic research and start-ups, and back the resulting ventures to global scale.
Explaining the need, Mittal pointed to the fragmentation the Foundation was created to end — “Several of our companies can be working on the very same catalyst at the same time. That is duplication of work, of investment and of bureaucracy — and it comes with no direct interface to the institutions where the research is actually happening.”
The stakes, he said, are foundational — “If there is no energy, there is no life, no economy, no business, no food and no water.” He was clear that the ambition must extend beyond the domestic market — “We cannot become a Viksit Bharat by focusing on the Indian market alone.
We have to produce at a global scale — that is how costs come down.”
Addressing the founders present, he committed MC² to the full journey — “We will be with you through the entire cycle — mentorship that is both technical and managerial, help with funds, and the visibility that a PSU will procure your product when it is ready. You should not have to worry about whether a market exists.”
The launch witnessed the participation of senior leadership from across the energy sector including Arun Kumar Singh, Chairman & CEO, ONGC; Ranjit Rath, CMD, Oil India Limited; AS Sahney, Chairman, IOCL; Sanjay Khanna, CMD, BPCL and Director, MC² Foundation; Vikas Kaushal, CMD, HPCL and Director, MC² Foundation; Atul Gupta, CMD, Engineers India Limited; Madhukar Garg, Former President, R&D - Refining and Petrochemicals, Reliance Industries Limited; Kartikeya Dube, Chairman, bp India; and Sandeep Maheshwari, CEO, MC² Foundation.
