BPCL and IIT Kanpur Host MC²+ Ignite Outreach Event to Accelerate India’s Energy Innovation Ecosystem

Kanpur: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), a Fortune Global 500 company and a Maharatna PSU, in collaboration with IIT Kanpur, today organised the MC²+ Ignite outreach event at IIT Kanpur, bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, academia, researchers and startup founders to accelerate innovation and entrepreneurship in India’s energy sector.

The event brought together over 400 startups, researchers, students and academicians, providing a platform for discussions on India’s growing energy requirements and the need to build a robust innovation pipeline that can take technologies from laboratories to real-world applications. Participants were also briefed on MC²+ Ignite, its focus areas and selection criteria, as well as the broader vision behind the MC² Foundation.

The event was graced by Shri Awanish Kumar Awasthi, Advisor to the Hon’ble Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh; Shri Alok Kumar, Principal Secretary, Planning and Programme Implementation, Science and Technology, Government of Uttar Pradesh; Shri Sanjay Khanna, Chairman and Managing Director, BPCL; Professor Manindra Agrawal, Director, IIT Kanpur; Padma Vibhushan Prof. M.M. Sharma, eminent energy sector mentor; Shri Senthilkumar G R, Head (Corporate Strategy), BPCL; and Shri Bharat Newalkar, Head (R&D), BPCL; Professor Raja Angamuthu, Associate Dean, (R&D) and Professor in charge IOTA- IIT Kanpur; Dr. Ashutosh Agnihotri, CEO, SIIC-IIT Kanpur; along with industry leaders, academicians, startups and researchers.