Bangalore-based startup, Virtual Forest has partnered with Infineon Technologies, a global leader in semiconductors in their Solar Pump Motor Drive Design Challenge 2021. The competition being part of the Startup India challenge is organised by Infineon in collaboration with AGNIi, and Invest India. The organisers invite industries, SMEs, and startups to participate and compete for the best motor drive solution for solar pumps. Infineon initiated the ‘Infineon Solar Pump Motor Drive Challenge 2021' to encourage affordable and reliable solar-powered irrigation systems for farmers.
The winners will get a chance to see their ideas advancing into prototypes. This will get the participants exposure to the rapidly progressing Pump Drive market and its manufacturing operation. Virtual Forest will take the role of accelerating the production of the winning designs, and will support the ideas of the innovators to get approval.
“The Design Challenge makes Virtual Forest, a virtual lab to work with Indian appliance manufacturers looking to turn their concepts into reality in a cost-effective and efficient manner. Being a startup, it is extremely exciting to be supporting other start-ups innovate, and be part of the commercialization of their concepts,” said Omer Basith, Founding Director and CEO of Virtual Forest.
India’s vibrant pump manufacturing industry has many opportunities to address the domestic market demand. Most manufacturers rely on overseas suppliers for drives to run these pumps. This leads to high outgo of FOREX resulting in a weak supply chain with dependency on other countries for the supply of drives. The challenge will be an inspiration for many innovators in this field and help India to become a global leader in the solar pump industry once a complete ecosystem is set up.
The Challenge is open to startups and SMEs, keen to design innovative solutions for Motor Drives for Solar Pumps. This Challenge helps reach the goal of Make in India, Atmanirbhar Bharat and Pradhan Mantri-Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan (PM-KUSUM) initiatives; wherein PM-KUSUM is aimed at farming system development. For participating in this challenge, visit https://www.infineon.com/cms/en/product/promopages/solar-pump-motor-drive-design-challenge-2021/
