India: Carbon Zero Challenge 2022

Deadline: 30-Sep-22

Applications are now open for Carbon Zero Challenge 2022 that focuses on circularity and sustainable innovative solutions.

The biggest challenge humanity faces is meeting the growing demands with limited resources and to be achieved within the constraints of reduced carbon and water footprint.

The current focus is on reducing the embodied energy, carbon, and water footprint of their production processes, transport processes, and during the active product life.

Themes

• CZC 2022  focuses on circularity and sustainable innovative solutions for managing the following resources:
  • Air
  • Energy
  • Material
  • Soil
  • Water

What is new in CZC 2022 ?

• Start with Proof of Concept Stage: CZC 2022 will focus its target applicant pool to teams that have already demonstrated lab-scale prototypes, with a clear technological advancement Build on CZC's brand and broad reach so far
• Focus on Sustainability Problems: Less-prioritized Clean Tech Challenges such as Water/ Waste/Soil/Air Pollution and recovery of resources can address significant sustainability problems in resource conservation.
• Wider Range of Solutions: Solutions to sustainability challenges can be new technology or a new business model or a new app-based inventory or a new policy intervention or a combination of the three.
• Faculty-led/Research scientist-led teams: Faculty initiation and involvement are key to sustain the momentum and continue the journey to higher TRLs and Incubating Startups.

Benefits 

• Financial Support
  • Financial Support of upto INR 5 Lakhs for selected 25 teams.
  • Seed fund upto INR 10 Lakhs for selected 5 teams.
• One-on-One Mentoring
  • One-on-One Mentoring Sessions on Go to Market Strategy & Product Development Strategy
• Training
  • Pitch and Presentation Skills
  • Training in business financing and marketing
  • Design Thinking
  • Commercialization
  • IP and Licensing
  • Sustainability metrics
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Green rating
• Visibility and Networking
  • Industry connect
  • Incubator connect
  • Mentor connect
  • Govt. Connect
  • Venture capital connect
• Opportunity
  • Opportunity to showcase/ demonstrate your innovation/ business on CZC and IITM Platforms
  • Seed grant 10 lakh for 5 teams
  • Product Licencing
  • Facilitate onboarding into international startup platforms and global entrepreneurship funding
  • Preincubation Support at NIRMAN
  • Students Enroll in MS Entrepreneurship
  • Startup @ SusTech Incubator @ IITM
  • Piloting @ public space for govt/industry/ Civil Society connects
  • Carbon credit and trading

Criteria

• Team Composition ( Academic)
  • Teams comprising 5 persons including  a Team Lead,  a Team Advisor, and three Student Associates can apply. The team, led by the Team Lead, must be interested in taking lab scale  proof-of-concept to pilot a prototype and establish commercial viability that can elicit interest from potential commercialization partnerscustomers and building the commercialization plan for the technology or pilot the technology in partnership with a government body.
  • The Student Associates should be post-graduate, or doctoral research students or full-time project associatespost-docs working on the project. Each of them should take the responsibility of leading the technical, business, and sustainability modules of the project.
• Team Lead:
  • The team lead should be a full-time researcher (Ex: faculty, research scientist) with experience in guiding post-graduate and doctoral research and a keen desire to commercialise technology for impact.
  • The Team Lead is the person primarily responsible for working on the project and fund management of his team for CZC 2022.
  • The Team Lead is the person primarily responsible for working on the project, selecting the team members, and fund management of his team for CZC 2022.
  • The Team Lead will be required to participate in all CZC training and progress review sessions.
  • The Team Lead will be required to coordinate with CZC organizers for all submissions and requirements related to funds disbursement, training, mentoring, and progress review sessions.
  • The Team Lead will be required to approve and validate the utilization of funds disbursed by CZC 2022 organizers to herhis team.
  • The Team Leads are expected to supervise all submissions made by hisher  team regarding training, mentoring, and progress review sessions held by CZC organizers.
• Student associates
  • The team typically comprises student, research scholar, project staff, or other who is involved with the project submitted for CZC 2022( in case of startups, the CTO or COO). There can be more than one up to three associates and a Lead Associate should be identified. Ideally, one focussing on technical aspects, one on implementation/business aspects, and one on sustainability aspects will be required.
  • One of the Associates should be identified to coordinate with CZC organizers for all submissions and requirements related to funds disbursement, training, mentoring and progress review sessions.
  • He /She will be responsible for the execution of the project with the help of the Team Lead faculty and Advisor.
  • The Team lead Associate will be required to participate in all CZC training and progress review sessions.
  • The Team members are expected to work in close coordination with the Team lead associate, Team Advisor, and Team Lead faculty.
• Team Advisor
  • The team advisor is an expert from Industry or public sector background  who could liaison between the team and the industry/govt departments.
  • The advisor should be able to identify the challenges, existing solutions, their drawbacks, and implementation hurdles  due to technology, policy, and sociallegal aspects.
  • The advisor is expected to work with the team to develop an appropriate solution for the identified problem throughout the duration of CZC 2022.
  • Team Composition (Early Stage Startup/ Preincubation Teams )
  • Team Lead Founder / CEO of a startup or To be Startups
  • Team Associate CTO/ Technical
  • Team Advisor from Industry or public sector background who can understand the problems and implementation hurdles.

For more information, visit Carbon Zero Challenge.

For more information, visit https://czeroc.in/