Futuron awards for cleantech innovation - Energy Alternatives India
Most innovations do not receive the publicity they deserve, and innovators often remain unrecognised, rues Narasimhan Santhanam (Narsi), Director of Energy Alternatives India. “How many innovations has the world lost because no one has heard about them? How many green inventions that could save the planet remain forgotten?” he frets, when I recently met him and his colleague, Raja Manuel Muthayya, Senior Consultant, EAI. Rather than stop with laments, EAI is going ahead in a positive direction by announcing ‘Futuron’ awards for innovation in cleantech and sustainability. In this quick Q&A, EAI explains to YourStory the goal of the awards, and the process of Futuron.Goal
The Futuron Awards are designed to ensure that exceptional cleantech/ sustainability inventions are brought to the limelight of the mainstream industry, investors, and the public at large. Instituted by Energy Alternatives India, a company focused on cleantech and renewable energy support solutions, the awards turn the spotlight specifically on those innovators and innovations whose work goes unrecognised by big business and mass media.
Benefits
Award winners receive extensive publicity across EAI’s vast media assets, as well as on other platforms partnering with EAI in this venture. As India’s foremost research and consulting firm in renewable energy and clean technology, EAI’s network extends across the length and breadth of the green industry, and encompasses VCs, PEs, policy makers, developers, manufacturers, and NGOs across the world.
Process
Awards are based on quarterly themes. The theme for October-December 2013 is ‘Renewable/Sustainable Energy’. Any innovator, either individual or organisation, can self-nominate for the award or be nominated by someone known to them.
- The innovation must pertain to some form of renewable or sustainable energy.
- The innovation can be anything from new sources of clean energy to new ways of using clean energy, or even an innovative business model based on clean energy.
- Only innovations that have at least one successful pilot project or a few customer installations are eligible for the awards (prototypes can be considered in select cases).
- Only individuals or organisations with fewer than 20 employees and less than Rs 20 crore in annual turnover are eligible for the awards.
- Any innovator – scientist, engineer, farmer, housewife – from any part of India can be nominated for the awards.
- You can nominate yourself for the awards.
- Nominations are free, and multiple innovations from the same innovator are acceptable.
- The deadline for submission is December 31, 2013, but we recommend you to submit at the earliest.
Evaluation
Innovations are evaluated on the basis of:
- Impact on sustainability.
- Impact on society.
- Scalability.
- Creativity/ uniqueness.
- Longevity.
More information on the awards, themes, eligibility, and nomination form can be found on the event website.