Finance

Pune’s goEgoNetwork EV Charging Startup Secures $2 Million Seed Funding

Pune’s goEgoNetwork is an Indian EV charging startup that will provide EV chargers to you whether you are at home, at work, or traveling to your weekend getaway destination.

Recently the two-year-old startup has secured $2 million in seed funding to expand its existing electric charging network. Rishi Bagla of the Bagla Group in association with Olivier Guillaumond, Head of Global Innovation Labs and Fintech at ING Bank in the Netherlands had raised the seed round. Speaking of the investment, Bagla said, “EVs are part of the larger disruption in energy and transportation, which are witnessing a considerable shift towards green technology solutions.” “In the EV sector, more focus has begun on installing charging infrastructure. This will be the single most important factor, which drives the adoption of electric vehicles,” he added. Further, the seed funding arrangement was initiated by Jay Shah of Sharad Shah and Company in Pune. The goEgoNetwork charging experience was originally conceived and initiated by the founders, Sayantan Chakraborti, Pravin Kumar, and Dheeman Kadam while working for major investment banks in the Netherlands. The company was incorporated in 2019 and today, the company has its corporate office in Pune, its lab in the Netherlands, and has already set up a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at AURIC city in Aurangabad to cater to the fast-growing demand for robust EV chargers across the country. This year has seen aggressive investments in the EV sector despite the Covid-19 pandemic. As the Indian EV sector recorded investments of approx. Rs. 25,000 crore during the first seven months of this year. Sterling and Wilson Solar Limited (SWSL) (BSE Scrip Code: 542760; NSE Symbol: SWSOLAR), one of the leading solar EPC and O&M solutions provider, announced its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended 30th June 2021.

The Company’s consolidated revenue from operations for Q1FY22 stood at Rs. 1,195 crore and adjusted gross margins stood at Rs 28 crore. Gross margins were impacted in Q1FY22 due to continued increase in module, commodities and freight price impacting the overall gross margins of ongoing projects.

That is a 12 percent drop from its Q4 March '21 figures, when revenues were Rs 1365 crores.

On a year on year comparison however, the firm has managed to eke out some growth, as it did only Rs 1067 crores in Q1 2020-22. A 12 percent growth over a covid hit quarter. the firm continued to be in the red, with losses at Rs 87 crores, after the huge hits it took in the previous quarter, with a Rs 400 crores loss. Surprisingly, even the O&M business has seen a drop from Rs 72 crores to Rs 61 crores in the past two quarters.

The firm has informed the stock exchange about order inflows of 623 MW in FY22 till date amounting to 473 crore from domestic market.

Commenting on the results, Mr. Amit Jain, Global CEO, said, “The solar power industry is currently facing headwinds on account of increase in prices of solar modules, commodity prices and rise in freight costs. This has also led to major developers postponing the finalisation of their utility scale solar power projects. We expect the awarding of contracts to pick-up in Q3FY22. Most of our clients are looking at significant capacity additions and we remain confident of the opportunities going ahead. Our global presence enables us a lot of flexibility in selecting projects globally. Our unexecuted Order Book as on 14th August 2021 stands at Rs. 8,731 crore, which is executable over the period of next 12 to 15 months.

With carbon emission reduction becoming a global consensus, there are enormous opportunities in emerging fields of hybrid energy power plants, energy storage solutions and biomass / waste to energy. Thus, we have decided to enter these new lines of businesses by undertaking the EPC turnkey projects subject to shareholders approval. We can leverage our existing relationship with clients, further exploit our technical expertise and maximize the inherent benefits of our hub-and-spoke business model, thereby becoming a diversified renewables company into the rapidly growing ESG space"

The firm continues to struggle to find its moorings, ever since trouble first hit, right after its 2018 IPO, when it first disclosed the failure of its promoters to repay debts owed to the firm. That chapter finally looks set to end this year for the firm, with a little luck. According, term debt has come down from Rs 810 crores to Rs 64 crores now. that should leave the firm well placed to grab future opportunities and deliver on its promises.

Sterling and Wilson Solar Q1 Results. Underwhelming

Domestic manufacturing Push Gaining Strength Across Markets

"Similar to the “AtmaNirbhar Bharat” Program running in India, there are programs running in Europe and USA also where they want to incentivize domestic production of modules instead of importing everything from China, Malaysia, Taiwan and other places. So, with a lot of growth in those markets in terms of the module manufacturing, which also means there is a lot of growth likely to happen in the demand for solar glass we have already started our outreach in those markets. We have in fact started commercial supplies to many large players who are setting up plants and we see that as a future potential for the company," said Jain on the company's growth prospects.

Borosil claims that it has been providing an increased focus on exports to all the markets including Russia, Middle East, Africa North and South America in addition to the regular markets in EU and Turkey. The demand for glasses in all the major markets is expected to rise exponentially due to increased thrust on domestic manufacturing of solar modules. With solar glass prices coming off their June peaks, the sector could be set for a period of profitable growth at lower margins than those seen in Q3 and Q4 of 2020-21. A possibly larger than planned capex program is also likely to keep profits under a little more pressure, but there is no doubt that Borosil Renewables is very well placed to capitalise on the solar expansion underway. The firm should also benefit from the increased focus on Bifacial modules, which use more glass than the usual modules. The firm was also in the news early during the second wave, when Kheruka announced a generous support and compensation plan for the family of any employee of the firm that succumbed to the disease. The gesture was a trendsetter of sorts, and was followed by many firms across sectors.

Azure Power Secures Green Bond of US$41.4

Million At Lowest Coupon of 3.575%

Indian independent power producer (IPP), Azure Power Global Limited announced the issuance of a dollar green bond of US$414,000,000, through its whollyowned subsidiary, Azure Power Energy Ltd.

The Bond, maturing in 2026, will be issued at a coupon of 3.575%, i.e., the lowest ever coupon in the high-yield segment for any business out of India and lower by 27.5 bps from the lowest offering from any Indian renewable energy company to date.

The order book saw bids above USD 2 billion, with more than 60% of the issuance placed with US and European investors, thereby demonstrating, global recognition of credit and operational strength of the Group. The transaction also underscores the Group's continued ability to raise debt capital at a lower cost compared to its peers, leading to significant improvement in the overall return profile of the Group.

The Bond has been certified by Climate Bonds Initiative as a Green Bond and is the third solar Green Bond offered by Azure Power Group after issuances in 2017 and 2019. The Company will primarily use the proceeds to refinance its existing 5.50% US$500,000,000 Green Bond issued in 2017 and due in 2022 and is expected to reduce debt cost by over 200 basis points in hedged INR terms for its 611 MW operational solar projects portfolio offered under the bond.

The Bond has a tenor of 5 years with amortization and waterfall structures built-in and is a leverage-positive transaction for the Group, demonstrating Group's strong focus on creditor interests along with a valueaccretive approach in business conduct.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Ranjit Gupta, CEO & MD at Azure Power said, "This is truly a remarkable transaction for the Indian Renewable Energy sector in the global markets, being the lowest ever coupon in the high-yield segment for business out of India, and a landmark for Azure Power Group in its journey of over 13 years in this space.

CleanMax Gets `1,650 Cr Equity Investment from Augment Infrastructure

Mumbai-based clean energy company CleanMax Enviro Energy Solutions Pvt. Ltd. has revealed that US investment firm Augment Infrastructure will acquire a majority stake in it for Rs 1,650 crore.

Augment is purchasing the existing stake of Yellow Bell Investment Ltd (an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity firm focused on growth investing) and International Finance Corporation (IFC) in CleanMax. The company will also invest primary capital in CleanMax to fund the growth pipeline. UK Climate Investments (UKCI) will continue as an investor and board member. Rothschild & Co was the sale adviser. Solar rooftop developer CleanMax was founded in 2011 and currently has close to 150 customers including leading corporations such as Facebook, Adobe, Cargill Foods, Volvo, Tata Group, Mahindra Group, Grasim, Manjushree, and others. Augment has new investments lined-up in offsite renewables such as wind-solar hybrid projects in states like Karnataka, Gujarat and Maharashtra; and also in standalone solar farms in Haryana, UP, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu to serve the needs of corporate customers, the company said.

“This is Augment Infrastructure’s first investment in an Indian C&I renewable energy company," said Darius Lilaoonwala, managing partner, Augment Infrastructure.

“We are happy to note that both global investors will secure an exit, which is always a responsibility of the management team to deliver upon. I am also delighted to note that over 150 CleanMax colleagues, present and past, are securing a part exit on their ESOPs," Kuldeep Jain, founder and managing director of CleanMax.

In April this year, Facebook announced that its partnership with CleanMax for a 32 MW wind power project to be built in southern Karnataka. Around 50% of the project’s energy generation capacity has already been commissioned and is producing electricity. While CleanMax will handle the ownership and operation of the project, Facebook will purchase electricity off the grid through environmental attribute certificates (EACs) or carbon credits.

Borosil Renewables Q1 Results. Some Speed Bumps, But A Long Clear Road Ahead

Continuing its smart turnaround on the back of high solar glass prices, Mumbai-based solar glass manufacturer Borosil Renewables has reported a net profit of Rs 39.62 crore in Q1 FY22 as against a net loss of Rs 1.87 crore in Q1 FY21. The stunning results follow from a 151.8% YoY increase in net sales to Rs 136.13 crore in the quarter ended June 2021. The big question is, how long can the firm sustain this change in fortunes?

Lower Than Q4, Mostly Due to Covid 2nd Wave

In comparison to Q4 FY21, the company's net profit and net sales have gone down by 40.8% and 29.8%, respectively.

Borosil Renewables manufactures extra clear patterned glass and low iron solar glass for application in photovoltaic panels, flat plate collectors and green houses.

Further Capacity Expansion approved

The firm's board also approved a proposal to increase the production capacity of the company's upcoming third furnace (SG3), which is being installed at its manufacturing facility at Bharuch, Gujarat, from 500 MT per day to 550 MT per day, increasing the project's estimated cost to Rs 600 crore from Rs 518 crore. The furnace is expected to be commissioned by July 2022.

At the Borosil Renewables Q1 FY2022 investor call held on August 5, 2021, the company's Executive Chairman P.K. Kheruka blamed the pandemic among other issues for the quarter on quarter slump, saying that sales volume was lower than the historical peak volumes achieved during Q4 FY21 by about 10% due to lower production and high costs .

Higher Gas Prices And Vietnam Imports Weigh On Costs And Realisations Respectively

On the input costs front, Kheruka noted that there been a rise in the costs for natural gas, packing materials and a few raw materials. The company is putting in efforts to minimise the impact. Both these are likely to impact the EBITDA margins in the current quarter, he said. There is a new challenge posed by imports coming from the new solar glass plant in Vietnam set up by one of the large Chinese companies, which has begun operations recently. Such imports are not subjected to any duties as of now. Initially, these imports were priced higher taking into account the duties on alternate sources. However, the offer prices have now aligned to China/Malaysia. Kheruka said that the company is closely watching the situation and will take appropriate measures available under the law. While Borosil awaits levy of basic custom duty on solar cells and modules becoming effective from April 1, 2022, the safeguard duty of 14.5% has come to an end of July 30, 2021. This may result in an increase in imports and pose a temporary challenge for domestic producers of modules. "In our view, the country needs to add 25 gigawatts annually to meet their target of 300 gigawatts of solar installations by 2030. The total annual manufacturing capacity of solar modules in India currently stands at about 11 gigawatts...The module manufactures are also looking at supply chain of the key components from domestic sources including solar glass. The rise in the installed capacity of solar module cell manufacturing will lead to a rise in the production of solar modules, which in turn will lead to a higher demand of solar glass," he added.

The company's board has approved a further expansion by 1000 tonnes per day to be implemented in 2 phases of 500 tonnes per day each. These will be their lines SG4 and SG5. The work on SG4 is likely to be taken up during the second half of this financial year and the line is expected to be commissioned in quarter one financial year 2024.

On the question of production costs, Ashok Jain, Director, Borosil Renewables, stated that the price of energy is running high for all glass manufacturers. The imported LNG or spot LNG is only a part of the company's total basket of sources for natural gas. He explained, "We have a couple of contracts where these import prices do not affect as much. We balance various types of sources and try to minimize the impact and the volatility... [But for] the LNG portion, which we buy directly on spot quantity basis, [and] which is about 10% to 12% of our requirement, the cost has been running very high. In terms of the other contracts, which we link to oil again, the cost is high, which is another 15% to 20%. Almost one-third of our natural gas is aligned to the volatility in the oil and gas prices. This is impacting our energy costs and we do not see it correcting in the immediate future." At present, the company has a market share of about 36-37% and is already competing with the world's largest producers located in China and Malaysia, who receive subsidies and other benefits, said the management. The added that while in general, the company exports 16-18% of its production, in the last quarter, this figure was close to 22-23%.

Reliance Joins Bill Gates, Paulson To Pump $144 M Into Energy Storage Firm Ambri Inc

Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd (RNESL), Bill Gates, Japan Energy Fund and a few other strategic partners are investing $144 million into US energy company Ambri Inc to help it commercialize and grow its daily cycling, long-duration system technology, and build a domestic manufacturing facility. "This financing supports the commercial growth of our company and technology," said Dan Leff, Ambri Executive Chairman. "Further, these funds are instrumental to driving our efforts to scale the company's operations and establish our manufacturing infrastructure to meet rapidly expanding customer demand. We are delighted that our newest shareholders, who are world class investors and strategic partners, are joining Ambri's journey."

Massachusetts-based Ambri will use the proceeds from this fund raise to design and construct high-volume manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and internationally that will supply its long-duration battery systems to meet the growing demand from the gridscale energy storage market and large industrial energy customers, such as data centers.

As part of the transaction, RNESL, a whollyowned subsidiary of Reliance Industries (RIL), has been selected as Ambri's strategic partner to develop and manufacture Ambri's batteries in India. RNESL will invest $50 million to acquire 42.3 million shares of preferred stock in Ambri. "Reliance Industries sees this strategic partnership with Ambri as an important step in its journey of achieving its decarbonization goals. Our investment in Ambri is part of our broader plan to develop the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex, which will be amongst the largest integrated renewable energy manufacturing facilities in the world and the epicenter of India's Green Economy movement," stated Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Ltd.

Ambri has also entered into a long-term antimony supply agreement with Perpetua Resources, whose largest shareholder is Paulson & Co. Inc. Antimony is a key mineral in Ambri's battery chemistry and this agreement would help secure a domestic source for its supply chain. "We've been looking for an opportunity to help finance important technologies for large scale utility grade battery storage systems," said John Paulson. "Ambri's novel battery technology is ready to deliver a lowcost, durable and safe battery for longer duration applications that will enable a stable grid that incorporates an increasing amount of intermittent renewable generation. Perpetua Resources, a natural resource company in Idaho, is also an ideal supply chain partner for Ambri, given that it has the largest domestic deposit of antimony, which is a key mineral in Ambri's battery chemistry."

NTPC Investor Presentation Q1 FY21: focus on Renewables, Sustainability

At the 17th Annual Analysts and Investors Meet of NTPC Limited, the Indian electric utility highlighted its key achievements in FY21 in driving the adoption of green energy, particlulary solar power in the country. The company stated that it had incorporated NTPC Renewable Energy Limited, a new subsidiary for RE business, in FY21. It has won 1,885 MW of TBCB (tariff-based competitive bidding) contracts since FY21 and is setting up the country’s largest solar park, with a capacity of 4.75 GW, in Rann of Kutch, Khavada, Gujarat. Details about the park were given by NTPC as follows: • In-principle approval accorded by MNRE for development of this park as

UMREPP • Solar and Wind generation is envisaged from this park • Part of the capacity shall be used for producing green hydrogen, which will be exported through nearest port • Connectivity and LTA for first 500 MW is being applied and the same for balance capacity shall follow • CTU has initiated activities for setting up of ISTS substation at 765KV/400KV and Transmission Lines at 765 KV to Bhuj • Commissioning targets are 50% in 3 years and complete park in 5 years from allotment • Considering the Renewable

Energy Plans of Gujarat

Government, potential of up to 10 GW of RE power exists in Gujarat itself • Further, sale of power from this park can be targeted through any of the Tariff

Based competitive Biddings, as the transmission charges are waived for RE Power till

June 2025.

Moreover, NTPC plans to develop another solar plant - an Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Power Park (UMREPP) with up to 10 GW capacity. The power producer has also signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) for the development of solar plants on DVC Reservoirs and land.

The energy conglomerate signed another MoU with Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to jointly develop offshore wind projects. It also specified that it had undertaken due technical and commercial diligence for the acquisition of 500 MW solar assets.

State-run NTPC has plans to list its arm NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd in 2022-23 to raise funds for achieving its ambitious target of 60 GW installed renewable energy (including solar and wind) capacity by 2032, which entails a total investment of Rs 2.5 lakh crore. At present, the NTPC Group has a renewable energy capacity of around 1,365 MW.

Tata Power Q1 Results Strong, Key Highlights

Tata Power announced its Q1 results on Friday. Consolidated net profit jumped nearly 74 per cent to `465.69 crore in the June 2021 quarter, as compared to ` 268.10 crore in the corresponding quarter of the last financial year. Total income during AprilJune 2021 increased to `10,145.89 crore, compared with ` 6,540.42 crore in the year-ago period.

Q1 FY22 Consolidated EBITDA stood at ` 2,365 crore, up 16% from `2,037 crore in Q1FY21 including Renewable EBITDA of `643 crore up 9% as compared to ` 588 crore in Q1FY21 mainly due to higher wind & solar power generation , all round better performances in Solar EPC, rooftop, solar pumps business and favorable tariff order for CGPL

Key Highlghts For the Quarter ended June 30th, 2021: - Tata Power's consolidated Q1 FY22

Revenue stood at ` 9,831 crore up 47% as compared to ` 6,671 crore in Q1

FY21 mainly due to acquisition of

Odisha Discoms and higher sales/ execution in its solar EPC businesses - Q1 FY22 Consolidated PAT after exceptional items was up 74% at ` 466 crore compared to `268 crore in Q1

FY21 mainly due to higher wind & solar power generation, all round better performances in Solar EPC, rooftop, solar pumps business and favorable tariff order for CGPL.

STANDALONE - For the quarter ended Q1 FY22,

Standalone Revenue* stood at ` 1,788 crore up 22% against ` 1,469 crore in the Q1 FY21 due to higher generation - EBITDA stood at ` 937 crore up 44% against ` 649 crore in Q1 FY21 mainly due to higher dividend income from its subsidiaries - PAT after exceptional items stood at `198 crore up 340 % as compared to ` 45 crore in Q1 FY21 due to higher dividend income offset by MAT credit reversal due to change in tax regime

Commenting on the Company's performance, Dr. Praveer Sinha, CEO & Managing Director, Tata Power said, "All

From Q1 Analyst Presentation, Tata Power

our existing generation, distribution and transmission business units have reported a robust performance despite the challenges presented by the ongoing pandemic. This can be attributed to the excellent performance of all our businesses and capacity additions.

We aim to scale up our renewable portfolio from the current 4GW to 15GW by 2025 and to 25GW by 2030 thereby achieving 80% clean generation capacity, up from the current 31%.We will continue to expand and promote the mass adoption of rooftop solar & solar pumps, microgrids, home automation and focus on developing the EV charging infrastructure in the country.

We are happy to announce our re-entry into the development of greenfield Transmission Projects. Our partnership with the country's leading T&D EPC player "Tata Projects" will make us a force to reckon with. This would further accelerate the momentum of "Power for All" initiative of the Government of India."

Project Pipeline, Solar. Analyst Presentation, Q1

Battery Startup Log 9 Materials Raises $5 million from Amara Raja Batteries

Bengaluru-headquartered advanced battery-tech Log 9 Materials has announced an equity partnership and collaboration with Amara Raja Batteries (ARBL), one of India's largest manufacturers of industrial and automotive batteries. The deal involves an investment of $5 Million from Amara Raja Batteries during its ongoing Series A+ funding round.

For ARBL, the investment follows the announcement of its 'Energy & Mobility' strategy in June this year, which focuses on entering into new green technologies and solutions. These initiatives will include expansion and investments that will help the Company maintain technological and business leadership in the 'Energy & Mobility' space, apart from creating new growth avenues.

While providing an impetus to the research and development work at ongoing projects of Log 9, ARBL is expected to be the primary partner for scaling up the manufacturing operations of Logg's battery and fuel cell technologies.

Log 9's newly-developed Rapid Charging Battery Packs solve multiple challenges to expedite 2/3 wheeler EV adoption in India, whereas Log 9's flagship Aluminum Fuel Cell technology is targeted towards longhaul electric mobility and as a zero emission alternative to diesel generators.

Vikramadithya Gourineni, Executive Director at ARBL said that their investment is in line with ARBL's plans to invest in cutting-edge technologies to accelerate its evolution towards becoming an 'Energy & Mobility! enterprise. 'This will mark the first in a series of interesting developments that we plan to execute in the future. In this fast-changing technology landscape, we do not believe in a 'one-size-fits-all' approach and we are convinced that there will be the scope for interplay of multiple technology solutions for various applications. We believe that Log 9 has made great progress in developing a range of technologies that will prove very promising in emerging mobility applications. I am confident that both entities can derive significant synergies resulting in mutual long term benefits. " he added

Akshay Singhal, Founder & CEO, Log 9 Materials says, "We are delighted to have ARBL as one of the anchor investors in the Series A+ funding round of Log 9. The partnership with ARBL will enable us to propel commercialization at scale of our Rapid Charging Batteries, which in turn shall play a major role in the future in Log 9 eventually becoming the frontrunner and one of the largest Indian players in advanced cell chemistries. In the upcoming months of 2021, we at Log 9 are looking to take our breakthrough rapid charging battery-tech to end-users at scale; on the other hand, the development and advancements of our Aluminum Fuel Cells will also continue to happen in parallel - including pilots and OEM-level vehicular integrations."

Log 9 has also confirmed securing funding from existing investors including Exfinity Ventures and Sequoia Capital India's Surge Programme, alongside a clutch of new investors, as a part of its Series A+ funding round. The strategic angels who also participated in this funding round are -- Rajesh Yabaji and Chanakya Hridaya, Co-Founders of logistics industry Unicorn Blackbuck; Rajesh Ramaiah, Partner, Premji Invest; Desikan Sundarajan, MD, Equinor and Faiz Mayalakkara, Director Investments, Emirates Investment Authority. AC Ventures (SEA Frontier Fund LLP) is also among the new investors of Log 9.

The new investors have, along with the existing investors, invested around $8.5 Million in the ongoing $10-12 Million Series A+ round. The fresh funds raised will be utilized to expand production capacity and business development efforts of Log 9's latest innovation - Rapid Charging Battery technology - which has already completed successful pilots and is due for commercial roll-out in October 2021. Further, these funds will also be utilized to advance the start-up's Supercapacitor and Aluminum Fuel Cell based innovations. The start-up plans to set up local cell manufacturing for these technologies under the niche category of the ACC PLI Scheme in the coming years.

We have pioneered in solving the twin

problems of supply and demand of electricity

ZunRoof was one of the early movers on the solar rooftop space, going the start up way with fund raises and an aggressive expansion strategy. From solar rooftops, where the IIT Kharagpur educated founders touted their proprietary tools for tracking and performance to the move into IoT based devices for energy savings, the firm has expanded to be a firm focused on energy, but always on the look out for opportunities to build on its energy savings and efficiency pitch. The IoT line of products, being marketed under the zunpulse brand, cover everything from smart bulbs, to the zunpure RO water treatment device. Covering a range of pricing from Rs 590 to Rs 7490 for the RO. The common thread across all is the promise of energy efficiency, and smart functions, be it remote tracking, switch on and off, or times etc. today, the firm calls itself a Home Tech firm offering clean energy solutions. Founder and CEO, Pranesh Chaudhary, responded to a set of questions from SaurEnergy.

PRANESH CHAUDHARY

Founder and CEO, Zunroof

What was the closing turnover of Zunroof in 2020-21? Pranesh Chaudhary: We closed at INR 42Cr in the financial year of 2021.

With almost Rs 34 crores raised till date, does the company see the need for further fund raises too? Pranesh Chaudhary: Since, Clean Energy and IoT are booming sectors in India. Every bit of funding is needed to catapult the mission to bring smart and clean energy choices for the world. (ZunRoof received 28.2 Crs from Godrej family fund in the pre-Series A and Series A combined, approximately 3.25 Cr from angel investors (Ramakant Sharma, Founder of Livspace, Pradeep Tharakan, ADB, Gaurav Gupta, Partner at Dalberg and IIT Kharagpur seniors such as Kundan from Facebook, Nishant from Morgan Stanley and Nitin from FICO- senior executives in USA) and a grant from USICEF.)

When did the firm decide to diversify away from Solar to efficiency driven appliances? Pranesh Chaudhary: On the mission to make India Clean Energy Driven, Providing access to clean, smart and free electricity via solar was only the first half of the problem. The second half involved efficient utilization of this energy through IoT (Internet of Things). So, to address the same, With two years of research and development for leveraging IoT for efficient utilization of energy, we created an in-house developed IOT enabled hardware range that includes eleven smart devices under four categories - lighting, security, control, and purifiers - all of them working with one single app over wifi and not needing any wiring change at all in homes (a major limiting factor in usual home automation firms)- These are all plug and play devices. We are currently operating in 3 segments that include- ZunRoof (Residential rooftop segment catering to urban areas, which was founded in June 2016), zunsolar (Offering a wide range of solar products specifically designed for rural area needs, which was launched in May 2020) and zunpulse (a complete smart home solution to utilize electricity in an efficient manner, which was launched in October 2020) - now forms an ecosystem for each individual - from every walk of life - to efficiently generate and use clean electricity in daily life.

Share details on the portfolio and pricing (zunpulse and zunPure). Do you have unique selling points for these? Which is the top selling IoT device currently? Where do you source your IoT portfolio from? Pranesh Chaudhary: Last year in September we launched zunpluse- our home automation range of devices. The first generation of zunpulse has 11 smart home products that are Wi-Fi enabled,

plug & play devices that enable the customers to control all their electrical appliances with just one tap on the zunpulse app. The devices include smart bulb, smart plug, smart ac remote, smart TV remote, energy monitor, smart video doorbell, smart camera and smart plug among many others. Smart products are currently provided in scattered options or select value propositions across the industry. These products work on different platforms and user interfaces- which makes it difficult for the end user to experience the range of smart products. To experience smart products in its entirety zunpulse is offering a plethora of smart products on a single Made-In-India mobile application. Apart from the core benefits we are also offering comfort and convenience to the users, the products enable home automation for efficient utilization of electricity at homes and offices. The smart bulb, plug, doorbell and ac remotes are our top selling IoT devices as of now on leading e commerce platforms like amazon, flipkart and snapdeal and zunpulse.com Coming on to the third question, in the world of hardware, there are 3 major angles- software, hardware and firmware. Hardware and software are dependent upon the extent of backward integration one can do, that’s what makes for the differentiating factor and that’s what stops one from being dependent on external help. We as a company are at different levels of backward integration for different products - for Energy Monitor and Smart Bulb, the pollution sensor is entirely made in India so we develop them in house. But for other products, the hardware side chips and sensors are not currently manufactured in India. So, we are in a way dependent on external sources. We at ZunRoof are all for “Atmanirbhar Bharat”, and on the solar side we are completely made in India. For zunpulse however, we are sourcing some components from outside India but as we are expanding, we are planning to indulge into backward

integration by stepping into manufacturing and be self sufficient in ourselves.

How do you claim to be India's no 1 Home tech firm? Who else is there in the category? Pranesh Chaudhary: zunpure RO We have pioneered in solving the twin problems of supply and demand of electricity. We stand uniquely at the position owing to the plethora of services we provide that covers the wide entire range of solar and IOT products and services. We today have become India's #1 residential solar rooftop company with a number of sites installed, saved over 50 crores in electricity bills for our customers, and reached a million USD in monthly revenue from the residential solar rooftop business. We, till date, have installed more than half a million IOT devices, assessed over 3,00,000 homes, designed over 35,000 rooftop solar systems in 75+ cities in India, and installed 20 MW+ of rooftop solar.

What is the firm's vision for 2025? In terms of turnover and customers. Pranesh Chaudhary: So far, we have empowered more than 50,000 Indian homes with IoT devices and are on a mission to empower 5 million Indian homes through IoT in the next 5 years.

What is your preferred marketing strategy? Are there lessons to be applied across solar and IoT for selling? Pranesh Chaudhary: We are the only player in the industry to have tech enabled online customer acquisition, end to end order management, fulfilment and integrated grievance redressal system that ensures lean and streamlined Pre-Sales and Post-Sales operations for ZunRoof. This ensures that every sale is on unit positive economics even at low selling prices. In less than 5 years of starting up, we are already the #1 Choice for residential and SME clients in India for solar. An organic growth, fuelled by tech is the right state to be in for any startup. More importantly, a team with varied complementary skill-sets which has withstood multiple roadblocks and was boot-strapped for a long-time built a lot of confidence. Challenges are inevitable for any startup. In our case, we are creating a category of home-tech products (solar and IoT) and services for home-owners, which by definition is a hard business to build. We had to educate the customers rather than sell to them. Both the solar and IoT categories are segments where business can take up pace only after the customer is well informed and educated.

Globally, who are the dominant firms in the Home tech space? Pranesh Chaudhary: • Schneider Electronics • Philips • TIS Control • Legrand • Crestron

Do you have any exports? Pranesh Chaudhary: Not as of now.

How do you feel about the growth of solar since the time Zunroof launched? What has been the biggest drag, biggest plus points? Pranesh Chaudhary: The rooftop solar market has grown year on year and is expected to grow at a faster rate because of the favourable regulatory environment, affordable pricing and increasing awareness among customers aided by internet penetration. The immense growth of the Rooftop Solar market in India is combined with the increase in electricity demand per household and regular hikes in electricity tariffs. Lack of single window approval for net-metering often leads to significant delays in certain projects, thus hampering the overall customer experience. At the same time, the increased number of suppliers for every component of the solar rooftop system is easing the process of logistics and order delivery.