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					</table><p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/mnre-revises-cfa-rate-for-biomass-pellet-manufacturing-units" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has revised the Central Financial Assistance (CFA) rates</a> for biomass pellet manufacturing units under the National Bioenergy Program. The program has been promoting the production of briquettes, pellets, and biomass (non-bagasse)-based cogeneration in industries from the financial year 2021-2022 and will be in force to 2025 – 2026. According to the November 2022 notification, the CFA rate for briquettes or pellet manufacturing plants was ₹0.9 million (~$10,767) per MTPH manufacturing capacity with a maximum CFA of ₹4.5 million (~$53,832.6) per plant.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/ride-hailing-firm-mypickup-secures-%E2%82%B915-million-in-seed-funding" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Electric vehicle ride-hailing startup MyPickup raised ₹15 million (~$179,293) in seed funding led by Inflection Point Ventures</a>. MyPickup plans to use the funds to increase its fleet size and efficiency per vehicle and develop an exclusive scheduling and route optimization algorithm, mobile application, brand building, and operations management optimization. The company operates a fleet of seven electric autorickshaws, serving 45 customers. It has been facilitating 800 rides per month and aims to penetrate large apartment complexes within a few micro markets in a city for office and school rides.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/financing-strategies-renewable-growth" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The transition towards clean energy is accelerating in India, presenting tremendous opportunities for financing renewable projects</a>. Despite a significant reduction in renewable energy costs over the past decade, substantial investment is still necessary for India to achieve its ambitious net-zero goals. Ensuring the availability of diverse financing options is crucial to sustaining growth in the renewable sector while offering attractive returns to investors. The ‘Mercom India Renewables Summit 2024,’ scheduled for July 25-26, 2024, in New Delhi, will address these critical issues. One of the key sessions, titled ‘<strong>Financing the Renewable Energy Sector: Where and How to </strong><strong>Secure Funding for the Energy Transition</strong>,’ will take place on July 26.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/scaling-green-hydrogen-market" target="_blank" rel="noopener">India has taken several initiatives to promote the production and use of green hydrogen, including the setting up of the National Green Hydrogen Mission</a>. How effective are these initiatives, and what more needs to be done to create a green hydrogen ecosystem in India? These and other questions will be addressed by experts at the fourth edition of Mercom India’s annual event, the Mercom India Renewables Summit, on July 25 and 26, 2024, at the Hyatt Regency in New Delhi. The panel discussion titled <strong>&#8216;Scaling Green Hydrogen to Build a Competitive Marketplace&#8217;</strong> will explore strategies for making green hydrogen economically viable by discussing the necessary incentives to scale up green hydrogen production and the methods for creating demand from heavy industries like steel manufacturing and oil refining.</p>


Daily News Wrap-Up: MNRE Changes CFA Rate for Biomass Pellet Production


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					</table><p>Electric vehicle (EV) ride-hailing startup <a href="https://mypickup.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MyPickup</a> raised ₹15 million (~$179,293) in seed funding led by Inflection Point Ventures (<a href="https://ipventures.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IPV</a>).</p>
<p>MyPickup plans to use the funds to increase its fleet size and efficiency per vehicle and develop an exclusive scheduling and route optimization algorithm, mobile application, brand building, and operations management optimization.</p>
<p>The company operates a fleet of seven electric autorickshaws, serving 45 customers. It has been facilitating 800 rides per month and aims to penetrate large apartment complexes within a few micro markets in a city for office and school rides.</p>
<p>According to MyPickup, the Indian commute market, encompassing school and office segments, stands at $7.7 billion and is projected to grow 13% yearly. Assuming this consistent growth, the market size is estimated to reach approximately $14 billion.</p>
<p>Abhijeet Dattatraya Jagtap, Founder and CEO of MyPickup, said, &#8220;By offering shared, reliable, and electric commute solutions for officegoers and schoolchildren, we are committed to scaling our impact in reducing urban congestion and emissions. Our mission is to provide sustainable mobility options that not only improve daily commutes but also contribute to a cleaner and healthier environment for all.&#8221;</p>
<p>Ankur Mittal, Co-Founder, IPV, said, &#8220;Urban cities in India share challenges like pollution, high commuting costs, frequent cancellations, and expensive transportation for school children. Recognizing these issues, MyPickup offers solutions with real-time tracking for parents and EV vehicles to combat pollution and zero-cancellation and zero-surge pricing policies.&#8221;</p>
<p>In March, the Ministry of Heavy Industries <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/government-5-billion-program-electric-mobility" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launched</a> the Electric Mobility Promotion Program 2024 with a funding of ₹5 billion (~$60.34 million). The program targets electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers, including e-rickshaws, e-carts, and L5 category vehicles.</p>
<p>Sales of EVs in India <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/ev-sales-sustain-growth-momentum-q1-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reached</a> a record 486,669 units in the first quarter of 2024, a jump of over 40% against the 347,676 units <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/electric-vehicle-sales-q1-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sold </a>in the same period of 2023.</p>


Ride-Hailing Firm MyPickup Secures ₹15 Million in Seed Funding


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					</table><p>Electric Vehicle (EV) ride-hailing platform <a href="https://snapecabs.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Snap-E</a> has raised $2.5 million in a pre-series A funding round led by <a href="https://ipventures.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Inflection Point Ventures</a>. The company is expected to allocate these funds for talent acquisition and technology upgrades and introduce tech-enabled capabilities.</p>
<p>With a 100% electric fleet that is committed to offering sustainable, efficient, and affordable mobility solutions, the company will also leverage the funds to expand to other geographical locations.</p>
<p>While Snap-E operates a fleet of 600 EVs in Kolkata, the company plans to add 300-400 EVs by the end of this fiscal year. In FY25, the company aims to extend its services to two or three cities by adding 1,500-2,000 EVs to its fleet.</p>
<p>“Global EV sales doubled to 16.5 million units in 2021, and India&#8217;s ambitious goal to have EVs represent 30% of road traffic by 2028 could have significant global impacts, reducing the country&#8217;s oil dependency and serving as a replicable model for emerging economies. India&#8217;s transition to electric vehicles not only disrupts global oil markets but also positions the country, with its 1.4 billion population and rapidly growing economy, as a key player in the global EV market, marking a substantial step toward sustainable development,” said Mayank Bindal, Founder and CEO of Snap-E cabs.</p>
<p>Snap-E utilizes a hybrid B2B and B2C model, allowing it to maintain a less than 5% downtime that ensures a swift vehicle turnaround.</p>
<p>The company claims to be the biggest operator in eastern India, having the largest charging infrastructure, and is the only EV fleet operator to have signed an agreement with the Airports Authority of India, which allows it to operate from any Indian airport.</p>
<p>Snap-E has reached 600 cars within a year, with an accounting rate of revenue of ₹350 million (~$4.2 million).</p>
<p>Earlier this year, BluSmart, another Indian EV ride-hailing platform, <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/responsability-injects-25-million-blusmart" target="_blank" rel="noopener">received</a> an investment of $25 million to reduce carbon emissions in Asia.</p>
<p>In 2023, the sale of EVs in India <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/electric-vehicle-sales-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">touched</a> a record 1.53 million units, as opposed to a million units being sold in 2022.</p>
<p>According to Mercom Capital Group’s <a href="https://mercomcapital.com/product/annual-q4-2023-funding-ma-report-storage-grid/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Annual and Q4 2023 Funding and M&amp;A Report for Storage &amp; Grid</a>, corporate funding for smart grid companies in 2023 was down 30%, with $3.3 billion in 60 deals compared to $4.7 billion in 58 deals in 2022.</p>


EV Ride-Hailing Platform Snap-E Secures $2.5 Million Funding

<p><a href="https://buyofuel.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Buyofuel</a>, an Indian online marketplace for biofuel and wastes, raised over ₹16 million (~$214,887) in a seed funding round led by Inflection Point Ventures (<a href="https://ipventures.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IPV</a>).</p>
<p>The funding will be utilized to expand the marketing activities, work on technology, and sign new partnerships for business development.</p>
<p>The company functions in the large energy and fuels markets of India. India is the third-largest energy consumer globally, importing over 80% of its fuel requirement while generating over 350  MT of organic wastes within India. Buyofuel plans to help substitute fossil-fuel consumption with biofuels manufactured in India from wastes generated within India.</p>
<p>The company has around 500 registered users, including Ramco Cements, Ultratech Cements, Valeo, and Thermax. The platform has a supply capacity of over 800 KL of biodiesel, 800 MT of solid biofuels, and 1,000 MT of organic waste daily. It replaces around 500 MT of fossil fuels with biofuels every month.</p>
<p>Buyofuel said it offers 100% transparency to the consumers with real-time progress updates throughout the order execution. The consignment is tracked from the loading point to the unloading point.</p>
<p>Kishan Karunakaran, Chief Executive Officer of Buyofuel, said, “Buyofuel looks to become India’s single largest supply source of wastes to biofuel manufacturers and the single largest source of biofuels for fuel consumers over the next 12 months.”</p>
<p>Commenting on the investment, Ankur Mittal, Co-founder of Inflection Point Ventures, said, “At IPV, we have invested in a number of clean-energy startups and are witnessing their performance matrix show impressive numbers. Buyofuel is another step in that direction. We want to support sustainable, profit-making startups, and if they can make our planet better, then we are incentivized to support them even more.”</p>
<p>In 2018 the central government had <a href="https://mercomindia.com/cabinet-approves-national-policy-biofuels/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approved</a> the National Policy on Biofuels 2018. The biofuels program in India has been impacted due to the sustained non-availability of domestic feedstock for biofuel production. The National Policy on Biofuels was expected to address the issue. Biofuels are also one of the critical technologies to tackle the menace of air pollution plaguing India.</p>
<p>The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has also approved reviewing guidelines for granting authorization to market transportation fuels. The new policy is <a href="https://mercomindia.com/govt-fuel-guidelines-promote-biofuels/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expected</a> to ease the whole process, provide the necessary push to the companies for doing business, and open doors for the wider adoption of biofuels and other forms of alternative fuels.</p>


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