Volvo India honours organisations on smart energy and fleet management

Automobile giant Volvo India recently conferred awards to various individuals, industry, academia as well as authorities- on the lines of sustainability and smart energy management. At the Volvo India Innovation Summit held in Bengaluru on 10th November 2021, Tech Mahindra was accorded the 2021 Volvo India Innovation Award for their innovative Energy and Fleet Management solutions for the Indian market. 

The inaugural edition of Volvo India Innovation Award covered a diverse range of topics – from automation, infrastructure, and sustainable mobility to electromobility, accessibility, connectivity, and energy management among other areas. 

The awardees were selected from over 30 registrations by an eminent and independent jury constituted by Volvo Group India, which include Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chairman, Axilor Ventures and Co-founder of Infosys, Vijayak Chatterjee, Infrastructure expert, Zarin Daruwala, CEO, Standard Chartered Bank, India, Lennart Borjesson, SVP, Volvo Group and Helene Niklasson, VP, Volvo Group.

Apart from Tech Mahindra, Zypp Electric was also conferred with the Volvo India Innovation Award under the SME category for their last mile connectivity solutions that aim to uberise same day delivery using EV Fleet. Meanwhile, the Department of Urban Land Transport [DULT], Karnataka, was honoured with a special recognition for its project on improving Quality of Life (QoL). 

Tech Mahindra’s eNetra is a frugal nonintrusive IoT device that offers the ability to turn millions of regular energy meters in the country into smart and intelligent ones, without replacing them. It connects regular meters to the internet, captures the consumption metrics and sends data to the cloud. This allows both individuals and enterprises to manage and monitor their energy consumption in real time using mobile app as well as a web portal through data analytics and insights.

Tech Mahindra also presented the ability to use data insights and connectivity further with their open-source and integrated fleet management system - Vetturino. It is aimed at creating new opportunities to make fleet operations safer and efficient across a single vehicle, convoy, or the entire fleet operation.

Zypp Electric’s last mile connectivity solution not only claims to uberise same day delivery in B2B segment, but also promotes aspects of sustainability. It deploys electric two and three-wheelers along with innovative charging solutions; is socially inclusive, providing potential employment to low-income groups; provide higher utilisation levels through AI, Machine Learning and IoT tools -thus building a last-mile solution that is optimised and economical.  

Commenting on the awards, Kamal Bali, President & MD, Volvo Group, India said, “Today, the need for innovation is greater than ever before. We are standing at crossroads, where on one side, we face challenges to our planet & people, while on the other, we are seeing boundless opportunities arising out of emerging technologies and changing consumer demands that lead to new business models.”

“Clearly, innovation through co-creation is the vital way forward to accelerate meaningful adoption and use of these technologies for common good and sustainable future. This indeed is our inspiration behind the Volvo India Innovation Award. We believe that this will help to spotlight and encourage an innovation culture in the country, which in turn would inspire us all to develop solutions for our collective future,” he added.

The Department of Urban Land Transport [DULT], Government of Karnataka, was also honoured with a special recognition for their initiative in turning Church Street in Bengaluru into a testbed for future solutions in pedestrianisation, clean air and electric micro-mobility. The initiative is said to have attracted 14 startups to test their products and has also become a platform for artists and performers to connect with their audience.