14 January 2022

Innovation

Breaking New Ground

The all-new Ultron series solar inverter by Mindra, a renewable energy startup based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The innovation is in the look of the product, which is a departure from the usual rectangular shaped solar inverters. Mindra’s new inverter is designed in an attractive mint hue and has a dainty rounded shape.

This simple modification enhances its features. As it is meant for residential usage, the eye-catching design and colour makes it a good talking point. The novel shape also makes it lighter and gives it added compactness, thereby saving space and resulting in faster heat dissipation. The Ultron series inverter has a maximum PV voltage up to 650V, compatible for big capacity PV panel with a DC/AC ratio of up to 1.50.

The startup was launched in 2017 when three engineers, Dhairya Shah, Jainam Shah and Khushbu Shah got together with the vision of empowering homes and organisations through renewable energy. While Founder and CEO, Dhairya has a techno commercial background, Co-Founder and Managing Director Jainam Shah is at heart a sales and marketing afficionado. Co-Founder and COO, Khushbu Shah comes with a sound background in operations and chain management.

As of now, they have completed Airport Authority of India projects, developed footprints through distribution channel on a pan-India basis, launched electric vehicle charging stations for Central & State government companies and started their own range of products for the market.

Thriving in an MSME ecosystem:

For a first-generation entrepreneur, there is always a crunch in finance or accounting laws although government campaigns like Skill India, Startup India, Digital India and Make in India are providing MSME players a definitive push towards enhanced productivity and a level playing field. The MSME growth, according to the entrepreneurs is facilitated by digitization, increasing internet penetration, and customers’ familiarisation with digital payments fueled by B2C ecommerce players. Finding the right angel investor is ideal but may not, in many instances, be feasible. A more pragmatic path for support would be to leverage the potential of suitable technology and finance offerings in the current market. For instance, tie-ups with new-age non-banking finance (FinTech) companies allow access to timely collateral free finance to MSMEs.

Scope of Innovation in the sector:

The RE industry is creating impact and evolving every day. For instance, 2013-14 was the era of solar central inverter, which was then taken over around 2016-17 by the string inverter with multiple MPPT (maximum power point tracking). Around 2020, the utility scale ground mount projects started revolutionizing the market along with multiple MPPT string inverters. Again, earlier, in terms of battery energy storage systems (BESS), lead acid batteries were used, but now have paved the way for the more advanced lithium-based batteries.

The RE space is seeing a generation gap in only 2 years and it is for all industry players to evolve and engage with their stakeholders accordingly.