Themed “Energy for the Future”, the fourth round of the Green Energy Champion (GEC) has now been completed with five innovative, market-ready solutions well placed to support the country’s renewable energy transition – especially amidst the ongoing energy crisis.
The ‘Green Energy Champion’ is a programme that supports innovators who are driven to lead the Green Energy transition. The project is commissioned by the German Federal Foreign Office and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH together with the State Ministry of Solar, Wind and Hydro Power Generation Projects Development, the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority and the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Sri Lanka.
The Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, H. E. Holger Seubert highlights its importance: “The Green Energy Champion is part of a bigger movement towards addressing the challenges the world is facing due to climate change. One of the biggest challenges countries around the world are currently facing is the global energy crisis. As can be currently seen in Sri Lanka and many other countries, energy scarcity weighs heavily on national economies and societies. Therefore, the shift towards renewable energy sources and away from fossil fuels is becoming ever more urgent.”
The five Green Energy Champions of 2021 – Ecosteem (solar roof tile), Sanota (solar hot water system), Rhoda (electric smart bicycle), Route Sonar (route optimisation platform) and Eco Tech Base (biogas unit) – received exclusive access to six months of intense training and mentoring under the Green Energy Champion Accelerator 2021 which was implemented by Hatch and Good Life X (GLX). The accelerator programme helped them fine-tune and develop their products and prospects for local and international partnerships in the Green Energy ecosystem.
With the guidance and support received from the GEC Accelerator 2021, all five teams have showcased substantial growth in key business areas such as product and business development as well as branding and marketing. GEC’s Demo Day and Partner Matchmaking Event further provided a networking opportunity, connecting them to potential investors and customers. The programme also led to the creation of 6 new jobs, 20 indirect jobs and also benefitted 52 micro and small-scale vendors. Moreover, cross-product collaboration has been established across all five teams for prospective solutions such as portable solar charging stations (Ecosteem x Rhoda), route optimisation (Route Sonar x Rhoda) and biogas integration to solar hot water systems (Eco Tech Base x Sanota).
H. E. Holger Seubert adds: “Entrepreneurs and private sector are vital in the shift towards a greener economy. It is innovations driven by companies which – enabled by conducive policy frameworks – can scale sustainable solutions within very short timeframes.”
Complementing the Ambassador’s thoughts, Director General of Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority Sulakshana Jayawardena says: “With the implementation of renewable energy we can ensure energy security within the country. We’re facing a lot of issues in terms of trade balance, and we have to spend more than 25% of our GDP to import fossil fuels. So, with those concerns, I believe that we have to implement renewable energy projects – aiming to achieve not only 70%, but a 100% renewable energy share by 2030.”
The Green Energy Champion 2021 has succeeded in spotlighting good-practice models for sustainable energy in Sri Lanka while also paving the way for similar projects to be implemented in the future. The campaign has highlighted the talent that exists within Sri Lanka’s clean energy start-up ecosystem and the role they can play in the transition towards renewable energy and a sustainable future.
For highlights on the Green Energy Champion journey, please visit www.greenenergychampion.lk