Shell Foundation announced the second round of support for Husk Power Systems (HPS), a rural electrification company, to further scale up operations of their unique biomass gasification technology which converts rice husks into electricity.
HPS owns and operates 35-100 kW "mini power-plants" that deliver electricity as a pay-for-use service to villages of 2,000 to 4,000 inhabitants in the Indian Rice Belt. Each plant becomes operationally profitable in the first six months of operations. HPS has successfully implemented projects in 50 villages in Bihar and will expand its footprint to 100 villages in 2009, 400 in 2010, and 2000 in 2012.
The second round of support will help deliver more power plants, increase the operational and technical capacity of the company and develop the Husk Power Systems brand in India and the US. Shell Foundation has been a partner to Husk Power Systems since November 2008, providing ongoing business development assistance and technical support.
Rice husks (the casing on the outside of rice grains) have traditionally been discarded. However, upon heating, rice husk releases gas and which HPS uses to run modified diesel engines to generate electricity. The waste product of the process is high in silica and can be sold to concrete manufacturers. The business has also been awarded the first prize in the 2009 Global Business Plan Competition by leading global venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) and Cisco.
Simon Desjardins, Analyst, Shell Foundation, said: "Today, more than 40% of the Indian population, or approximately 1,25,000 villages, have no access to reliable electricity. Existing energy options in rural communities such as diesel generator sets and kerosene lanterns are polluting, prohibitively expensive, and logistically difficult to disseminate. Those villages which do have access to electricity are often subject to frequent power cuts and shortages in power supply. This directly impedes the economic development of the affected communities and indeed India as a whole."
"Husk Power Systems is using unique technology and processes to tackle the rural energy deficit in India in an environmentally and commercially sustainable way. They are proving that rural Indian communities are willing and able to pay for reliable electricity and that Bihar represents a viable market in which to deliver modern energy services. The Husk Power Systems team has surpassed Shell Foundation's expectations and we are excited to build on this partnership with a second round of financing required to lay the groundwork for a wider scaling up of operations," he further added.
Chip Ransler, Chief Strategy Officer, Husk Power Systems, said "The first round of Shell Foundation financing provided access to energy for 15 villages and critical improvements to scale our business. This new round of support will take us over the hump: funding more expansion, but also the people and resources we need to make Husk Power Systems an important player in the Indian rural power market."
"The Shell Foundation gets our vision - that power is critical to creating a new reality for rural Indians and that innovative technology and service models are critical to delivering it in a meaningful, sustainable way."
The company which has set up 10 plants is creating new job opportunities locally in Bihar. Ransler continued, "We are currently looking for 3 regional managers (to oversee 35-50 plants each) dozens of mid-level managers (in terms of fresher mechanical engineers, talented fresher management trainees, and experienced project managers), and close to 100 field workers (mainly skilled mechanical technicians from local technical schools) to join the Husk Power team. As we scale up, we'll hire hundreds of employees - most of them coming from Bihar. Candidates will be trained at our training facility where they will become skilled in large engine repair and maintenance, facility management, and continuous improvement processes.link
Showing posts with label Husk Power. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Husk Power. Show all posts
Wednesday 4 November 2009
Thursday 9 July 2009
Bihar-Based Husk Power Wins $250K in Business Contest
Husk Power Systems, a Bihar-based start-up that can convert rice husks into electricity, has won an inaugural global business plan competition sponsored by venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Cisco Systems.
The company will receive a $250,000 investment from DFJ and Cisco to help take the technology to the next level.
There were 16 finalists in the “Global Business Plan Competition” for university and business school students. They presented their business plans to judges June 30 from 15 schools in six countries through Cisco’s TelePresence technology.
Members presenting from the Husk Power Systems team were University of Virginia, Darden School of Business 2009 graduates Manoj Sinha and Charles “Chip” Ransler. They launched the company in 2007 with co-founder Gyanesh Pandey, a Bihar-based engineer.
“We’re honored to receive this recognition and opportunity, especially considering the level of competition,” said Ransler, Husk Power’s chief strategy officer.
“We look forward to working with the investment professionals at Cisco and the DFJ Global Network to make Husk Power Systems a pioneer in providing electricity to rural villages in India.”
“With this competition, we certainly witnessed that entrepreneurship has no borders, and we look forward to expanding it to even more universities worldwide next year," said Tim Draper, managing director, DFJ.
“Deciding on just one winner was difficult, especially with this caliber of candidates. We are excited to have chosen Husk Power Systems, which is especially remarkable for its alternative power technology, and we can’t wait to see how this team becomes the next game changer.”
HPS can cost-effectively convert rice husks into electricity, using 35-100 kilowatt “mini power-plants” that deliver power on a pay-for-use service to villages of 2,000—4,000 inhabitants in India’s rice producing regions.
The 31-year-old Sinha, who has an electrical engineering degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and worked at Intel Corp., learned first hand about power shortages in India when he grew up in Bihar.
The system produces enough electricity to supply 300-500 households for 8-10 hours a day. A byproduct is silica, a valuable ingredient in making cement. There are generators in five villages currently, with the hope to expand that to 100 in a few years.
The long-term plan, Ransler told one reporter, is to profit from the global market in credits — earned by avoiding greenhouse-gas emissions, and to sell the benefit.
Husk Power Systems previously won first place in the University of Virginia business plan competition in 2008 and the social innovation competition at the University of Texas at Austin.
Judges evaluated factors including management teams, addressable market size, competitive positioning, barriers, capital efficiency and financial projections. DFJ and Cisco said they will continue to work with the winner and other finalists to mentor the “next wave of disruptive technologies.”
The other India-based finalist in the competition was Kasaragod, Kerala-based Innoz from the LBS College of Engineering. The company developed an SMS text messaging interface for trivia and other information for 300 million Indian cell phone subscribers.link
The company will receive a $250,000 investment from DFJ and Cisco to help take the technology to the next level.
There were 16 finalists in the “Global Business Plan Competition” for university and business school students. They presented their business plans to judges June 30 from 15 schools in six countries through Cisco’s TelePresence technology.
Members presenting from the Husk Power Systems team were University of Virginia, Darden School of Business 2009 graduates Manoj Sinha and Charles “Chip” Ransler. They launched the company in 2007 with co-founder Gyanesh Pandey, a Bihar-based engineer.
“We’re honored to receive this recognition and opportunity, especially considering the level of competition,” said Ransler, Husk Power’s chief strategy officer.
“We look forward to working with the investment professionals at Cisco and the DFJ Global Network to make Husk Power Systems a pioneer in providing electricity to rural villages in India.”
“With this competition, we certainly witnessed that entrepreneurship has no borders, and we look forward to expanding it to even more universities worldwide next year," said Tim Draper, managing director, DFJ.
“Deciding on just one winner was difficult, especially with this caliber of candidates. We are excited to have chosen Husk Power Systems, which is especially remarkable for its alternative power technology, and we can’t wait to see how this team becomes the next game changer.”
HPS can cost-effectively convert rice husks into electricity, using 35-100 kilowatt “mini power-plants” that deliver power on a pay-for-use service to villages of 2,000—4,000 inhabitants in India’s rice producing regions.
The 31-year-old Sinha, who has an electrical engineering degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and worked at Intel Corp., learned first hand about power shortages in India when he grew up in Bihar.
The system produces enough electricity to supply 300-500 households for 8-10 hours a day. A byproduct is silica, a valuable ingredient in making cement. There are generators in five villages currently, with the hope to expand that to 100 in a few years.
The long-term plan, Ransler told one reporter, is to profit from the global market in credits — earned by avoiding greenhouse-gas emissions, and to sell the benefit.
Husk Power Systems previously won first place in the University of Virginia business plan competition in 2008 and the social innovation competition at the University of Texas at Austin.
Judges evaluated factors including management teams, addressable market size, competitive positioning, barriers, capital efficiency and financial projections. DFJ and Cisco said they will continue to work with the winner and other finalists to mentor the “next wave of disruptive technologies.”
The other India-based finalist in the competition was Kasaragod, Kerala-based Innoz from the LBS College of Engineering. The company developed an SMS text messaging interface for trivia and other information for 300 million Indian cell phone subscribers.link
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