Innovation Flow

Innovative energy storage technology for Power Generation Hybrid Systems can reduce fuel consumption, carbon footprint and total cost of operation up to 50% -key product differentiators for the fast growing remote telecom towers segment. Disruptive Technology - Hybrid power generation systems, for the fast growing remote telecom towers segment, will witness disruptive innovations caused by integration with energy storage and renewables by 2020. We have an opportunity to differentiate our product by adopting a superior energy storage technology – Zinc Bromine Flow Battery (pioneered by the Sandia National Labs). Flow batteries are superior to Li-ion and other next-generation storage technologies for long-duration applications. The falling costs of these batteries is expected to carve out a 360 MWh market in 2020, worth $190 million - Zinc bromine (ZnBr) is predicted to become the most competitive flow battery at $391/kWh. Business case - Secondary market research in...

This is the first in a series of blog posts on the future of Urban Mobility . Our ability to ensure clean and convenient mobility in our cities is key to the sustainable growth of our economy.  Volatile fuel prices, rising levels of emissions and traffic congestions are the key challenges that we face in most Indian cities today.  We need the best of our young minds to look at emerging technologies, like smart and connected vehicles, to overcome these challenges.  I expect that urban mobility, both personal and commercial, will be shaped by disruptive technologies such as: the move to on-demand mobility , the impact of autonomous vehicles and the growth of electric vehicles .  There are three big challenges Challenge # 1 - How to achieve Zero Vehicular Emission ? I was in New Delhi during December 2015 for a Conference and the visibility was very poor due to smog even in the middle of the day. Challenge # 2 -...

The real tragedy occurs each time a creative mind turns away from a challenge because enough experts tell them it’s unsolvable - Vinod Khosla, Black Swans of Energy Transformation http://www.khoslaventures.com/wp-content/uploads/Black_Swan_8_28_11.pdf #Vinod Khosla has written an insightful essay on the Black Swans of energy transformation where he emphaises the importance of placing our bets on the less probable, high risk technologies that if they succeed can lead to a breakthrough improvement. Khosla makes an important point about why we should not get discouraged by what experts say if we want to make any progress with our innovation idea. "The number of times prominent experts have claimed that there is no possible innovation left in a market, an area or even all of science, is hard to count. In 1900 Lord Kelvin, having just retired as president of the Royal Society, was reported to have said, "There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now. Al...

René Laennec - How he invented the Stethoscope ! In 1816, shyness led Laennec to invent the stethoscope. He was examining a young woman complaining of heart problems. At that time, doctors generally listened to patients' heartbeats by resting an ear against the patient's chest, but the conservative Laennec thought this improper under the circumstances, especially as she was overweight. He rolled a piece of paper into a tube and pressed it to her chest, allowing him to hear the sounds of her heart. Some believe he was inspired by the flute, which he used to play. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Laennec http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/02/16/who-was-rene-laennec-story-of-the-stethoscope-inventor/

Make in India  Key Points from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at the inauguration of the event in Mumbai PM Modi gave an inspiring speech at the inauguration of Make in India event in Mumbai and shared his vision - here are some key point from his speech : 65 per cent of the population of India is under the age of 35. This youthful energy is our greatest strength. We want the share of manufacturing in our GDP to go up to 25 per cent in the near future. India is blessed with three Ds. These are: Democracy, Demography and Demand. To this, we have added the fourth D that is Deregulation. Today’s India is this four dimensional India. In a competitive world improving managerial and technological capacity is essential for survival and growth. From space shuttles to pollution control; from health to education; from agriculture to services; our young entrepreneurs and start-ups are showing us newer and faster ways for enterprise and delivery. My Government is c...