The initiative aims to strengthen India’s agrarian-based economy by encouraging industrial leaders to develop locally made solutions
As an agrarian country, almost 16 per cent of India’s GDP comes via agriculture with more than 41 per cent of the country’s workforce employed in this sector. Enablement of solar pumps across the country will not just serve as a great boon to the environment but also lessen the burden on grid infrastructure, decrease reliance on imported crude and improve farmers’ livelihood.
In order to encourage affordable and reliable solar-powered irrigation systems for farmers – designed and manufactured locally, Infineon Technologies in collaboration with Startup India, AGNIi and Avnet India, has announced the commencement of its ‘Infineon Solar Pump Motor Drive Challenge 2021′ program that invites the industry, SMEs and Startups to participate and compete for the best design in motor drive solution for solar pumps.
India’s agriculture is primarily dependent on diesel-powered pumps which contribute to rising emissions and greenhouse gases. Current pump manufacturing produces traditional irrigation pumps but microelectronics is still new to this industry. Solar pump manufacturers rely on overseas suppliers for drives, hampering build-up of local competence and ecosystem. To reverse the effects, it is integral to build energy-efficient and cost-effective motor drive solutions for pumps locally.
For the program, registrations are open until 14 March 2021, post which selected registrants will have another month to submit a design concept. In the final round, 10 shortlisted participants develop a working solution, with support from Infineon and partners and will present to the jury comprising of senior management from Infineon. Apart from attractive awards, the winner will get an opportunity to access the fast-growing pump drive market through working with leading industry players to further develop their product for manufacturing.
“Developing viable solutions for solar pump motor drives will enable local manufacturers in India to reduce overall dependency on imports. With a complete ecosystem in place, India has the potential to become a global lead in the solar pump industry,” said Vivek Mahajan, Vice President & Division Head for Industrial Power Control, Infineon Technologies Asia Pacific.
He further added, “Besides supporting the Government of India’s countrywide ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, ‘Make In India’ & ‘PM-KUSUM’ initiatives, we are making life easier and greener with microelectronics from Infineon.”
Infineon has been actively engaging with the startup and entrepreneur ecosystem in India since 2017. Over the past few years, the company has partnered with the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) at Niti Aayog and various incubators across India including Electropreneur Park, NSRCEL and AIC-Sangam to foster and nurture promising start-ups and drive tomorrow‘s solutions addressing some key societal concerns like climate change. Most recently, Infineon has been actively funding technology-based healthcare solutions developed by premier institutes to enable India to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Interested applicants can apply here
