Case Study: Nurturing India’s clean tech innovators

The Energy Transitions Innovation Challenge (ENTICE) is a major clean-tech accelerator in India. Launched by Global Energy Alliance in 2023, the program – now in its third interaction – helps early-stage clean tech startups validate and deploy their innovative solutions.

ENTICE by the numbers:

• 600+ applications
• 30+ investors engaged
• $100,000 in grants
• $5 million in investments unlocked

Each year, roughly a dozen finalists participate in an intensive bootcamp where they refine business models, connect with industry experts and assess commercial scalability. Many participants are now finding commercial success worldwide.

The innovation challenge takes place against the backdrop of India’s rapid clean energy transition. The nation aims to source 50 percent of its energy from renewables by 2030. Yet grid modernization remains a critical bottleneck.

ENTICE addresses these barriers through hands-on collaboration between innovators and utilities. The program has evolved across three editions.

• ENTICE 1.0 focused on low-cost battery storage solutions, distributed renewable energy aggregation and appliance efficiency. Following its win in the inaugural challenge, energy storage provider AmpereHour Energy partnered with BSES Rajdhani Power Limited to deploy one of India’s first utility-scale, standalone battery energy storage systems in New Delhi.
• ENTICE 2.0 shifted its focus toward overcoming grid challenges. Twelve finalists joined an intensive bootcamp in New Delhi in August 2025. The four winning startups received $25,000 technical assistance grants each. They partnered with Rajasthan state utility JVVNL for live grid testing.
• ENTICE 3.0, launched in 2026, focuses on developing non-lithium battery storage solutions and hyperlocal, AI-driven demand forecasting platforms for distribution companies (DISCOMs). Two winners will divide $100,000 in catalytic convertible funding.

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ENTICE operates alongside the Global Energy Alliance’s Grids of the Future initiative and bridges the gap between clean-tech innovation and deployment. Ultimately, it ensures these breakthrough solutions scale efficiently to create green, highly sustainable new jobs for future generations.

‘Nurturing India’s clean tech innovators’ is part of a series of seven Global Energy Alliance case studies highlighting impact across the global portfolio. Together, they showcase a consistent model: pairing infrastructure with opportunity, aligning public and private actors and creating pathways to scale that extend beyond individual projects.

From Africa to Asia and Latin America, the series illustrates how Global Energy Alliance is translating its two pillars — Grids of the Future and Powering Opportunity — into tangible results for communities, demonstrating how clean energy can drive inclusive growth, unlock investment and accelerate progress toward universal clean energy access.