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Green Tech Startup Ecoinno Raises $6 Million in Series A1 Funding from Alibaba Entrepreneurs Funds

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Hong Kong-based green material company, Ecoinno (H.K.) Limited. , focused on providing alternatives to single-use plastics, today announced the closing of a US$6 million Series A1 funding from the Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund and Alibaba Taiwan Entrepreneurs Fund II.

Ecoinno will utilise these funds to begin industrial-scale production of its proprietary Green Composite Material™ (GCM™) and to strengthen its material research and engineering platform to help meet pressing consumer packaging needs, driven by tightening regulatory requirements globally, as well as increasing consumer green awareness.

Ecoinno is co-founded by CEO Mr George Chen Dah Ren and COO Ms Vivian Chang, incubated within the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park (HKSTP), and sustained with significant grant funding from the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC).

Ecoinno was also awarded as one of the Top Five Winners, and the only finalist in the Smart City Cleantech segment, at the Alibaba JUMPSTARTER Global Pitch Competition 2020.

“This new funding puts us solidly on the first step towards realising our vision of creating a sustainable, circular economy by delivering GCM™ products to our environmentally- focused clients,” said George Chen Dah Ren, co-founder and CEO of Ecoinno. “We are thrilled to have both Alibaba Entrepreneurs Funds coming on board in our first institutional round, to help take the company forward. We are also very grateful to our long-standing benefactors, especially the HKSTP and the ITC”.

Ecoinno has developed a patented Green Composite Material™ (GCM™) and related processes, based 100% purely on NATURAL PLANT FIBRES – the most abundant, renewable, and naturally occurring polymer on earth. By repositioning nature’s plant fibres, GCM™ harnesses the remarkable natural attributes of plant fibres, notably: 1. 100% biodegradable in the natural environment within 75 days; 2. extreme temperature tolerance (allowing freezing and oven reheating); 3. Three times stronger than plastic and bioplastic in tensile strength; 4. Impermeable to Oxygen (extremely low transmission rate, on par with even metal); 5. Water and Oil-resistance, and most importantly, 6. Toxic free (passed FDA test).

“We were won over by the vision and passion of George, Vivian and their team, to tackle single-use plastics pollution – one of the most pressing environmental challenges globally today. We believe that the functional and commercial attributes of Ecoinno’s GCMproducts represents a paradigm shift in the Movement to Rethink Plastics,” said Mr Edward Liu, Partner of WI Harper Group, manager of Alibaba Taiwan Entrepreneurs Fund II. “We are proud and excited to be Ecoinno’s partners at this early stage of development.”

This News has been produced in partnership with PR Newswire

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Developed by Greenko Group, India’s Largest Pumped Storage Project inaugurated in Madhya Pradesh

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The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan virtually inaugurated India’s largest pumped storage project in Madhya Pradesh. The project is being developed by Greenko Group, India’s largest energy storage company.

The project, which is located in the Khemla block, Neemuch district, Madhya Pradesh, has a capacity of 1440 megawatt (MW), with storage for 7.5 hours and is now being expanded to 1920 MW with storage of 6 hours to provide a storage of nearly 11 Giga watt hours (GWh) daily.

The overall investment will total Rs 11,500 crores over the next three years and generate 4800 jobs during construction and 200 jobs after completion of the construction.

An additional Rs 15 crore will be invested in local community projects to support indirect jobs such as small infrastructure contracts, hiring of vehicles etc. It will be completed within 30 months as against allocated period of 36 months by statutory authorities.

When completed, the project will be able to integrate more than 7000 MW of renewable capacity.

This project is an off stream open loop project as it envisages the construction of new off stream reservoir known as the upper reservoir and the existing Gandhi Sagar Reservoir will be used as lower reservoir. The proposed upper reservoir shall be made by construction of a 5,970-metre-long and a 35-metre-tall Asphalt Face Rockfill Embankment Dam (AFRD).

“”The inauguration marks a milestone in India’s clean energy efforts, said Mr. Anil Kumar Chalamalasetty, Group CEO and Managing Director, Greenko Group. “It is a moment of great pride for Greenko that we have pioneered to deliver 24/7 dispatchable renewable energy solution, for industrial decarbonization and energy transition. Achieving this is made possible through national-level policy backing and the forward-thinking guidance of the Honourable Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan ji. Greenko is committed to facilitate a comprehensive shift towards carbon-free energy through integrated solutions.”

About Greenko Group

Greenko Group has an installed capacity base of 7.3 GW across solar, wind and hydro generation technologies spread over ~100+ projects across 15 states and delivering 20+ Bn units of renewable energy annually across the country constituting ~1.5-2% of total India electricity needs.

Greenko Group is the world’s largest energy storage company and one of the largest clean energy companies globally. The Group is focused on enabling carbon neutral solutions to achieve net zero goals of corporates and global economies at scale through its intelligent energy platform and green hydrogen production systems. Greenko is building 30 Giga Watt Hours of lowest cost storage capacity as part of its plan in developing energy storage cloud platform of 100 Giga Watt Hours.

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Singapore's Largest Car-Sharing Platform Tribecar and Charge+ form partnership in a push for green mobility in Singapore

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Singapore's Largest Car-Sharing Platform Tribecar and Charge+ form partnership in a push for green mobility in Singapore

Tribecar aims to electrify its fleet, with support from Charge+’s nationwide EV charging network

Tribecar, Singapore’s largest Car-Sharing platform and Charge+, a leading electric vehicle charging operator serving Southeast Asia, signed a collaboration agreement. Tribecar, with over 1,300 vehicles, plans to electrify its car-sharing fleet and tap on Charge+ as a powerful enabler with its extensive EV charging network across the island.

Charge+ is on track to grow its EV charging network to 1,000 charging points by  the end of 2022. This rollout includes fast chargers, which at a power rating of 120kW, are the fastest public charging network in Singapore. In addition, Charge+ is the only EV charging company in Singapore today that has comprehensive EV charging operations across public housing, condominiums, shopping malls and office buildings. This pervasiveness brings added convenience to Tribecar users and eliminates any range anxiety arising from renting an EV.

“The collaboration with Charge+, a key player in the proliferation of EV charging in Singapore, further solidifies our leading position to drive sustainable mobility in Singapore’s car-sharing space. We can now speed up our electrification plans and

strengthen our users’ adoption of EV mobility options by leveraging on Charge+’s extensive EV charging network in the heartlands to improve the overall experience for our customers. A shared mission to advance the state of sustainable mobility in Singapore is what made this an even greater fit for us.” said Adrian Lee, Co-Founder of Tribecar.

“In line with our mission to catalyse electric mobility in Singapore, Charge+ has been playing an instrumental role in spurring electrification in vehicular fleets. As fleets tend to have higher daily mileage, it is vital that fleet vehicles be at the forefront of electrification. Our partnership with leading car-sharing company Tribecar is a strong affirmation of how the pervasive EV charging network by Charge+ can spur EV adoption and make driving an EV convenient and hassle-free.” said Goh Chee Kiong, CEO of Charge+.

This collaboration will benefit members of Tribecar as they get to enjoy attractive charging rates from Charge+. In addition, Tribecar’s EVs in mileage-based categories will be deployed next to Charge+ charging points located in the carparks of many public housing towns. This allows for the ease of charging the vehicles when the vehicle is not on the move.

The cooperation will also see Tribecar promoting the use of Charge+ charging points to its users.

An immediate benefit of an electric fleet for Tribecar users is that they get to enjoy savings on energy costs. As compared to an ICE vehicle, they get to save at least 50% per km in fuel costs when they opt to pay for their own fuel. With Charge+, Tribecar hopes to promote the ease of using an EV charging point, right in the middle of the heartlands where their vehicles have always been deployed.

Tribecar and Charge+ apps are available for download via the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.

About Tribecar 

Tribecar is an innovative and affordable car-sharing platform that provides hourly, daily or weekly car rentals at affordable prices. Founded in 2016, Tribecar currently has over 1,300 vehicles, with its fleet conveniently parked within minutes in the heartlands. It is an affordable transportation alternative, inclusive of insurance, COE, road tax and maintenance. You can book and collect the car at any time of the day, you plan your own trip. No more hassles of owning a car!

Tribecar is the only car-sharing model in Singapore equipped with the private hire and food-delivery insurance and complies with LTA regulations, allowing commercial (driving for GrabCar/Go-jek, food delivery for FoodPanda/Deliveroo or sending delivery for Lalamove/NinjaVan) and/or leisure usages. Tribecar also welcomes p-plate drivers who have just gotten their licence to utilise vehicles within its car-sharing platform.

About Charge+ 

Charge+ is a leading integrated EV charging solution provider for Singapore and Southeast Asia, with the mission to catalyse the proliferation of electric mobility in the region. Its suite of integrated solutions include a proprietary ultra-slim charger, smart charging software and innovative business models. Executing its roadmap to implement at least 10,000 charging points by 2030, Charge+ is Singapore’s only comprehensive charging operator serving the public housing, condominium, commercial and industrial building segments. With Singapore as the springboard, Charge+ is also operating in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

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VLV Development Completes 1.1MW Solar Facility As Part of Bronzeville Micro-Grid Cluster Powering 660 Units of Public Housing

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VLV Development Completes 1.1MW Solar Facility As Part of Bronzeville Micro-Grid Cluster Powering 660 Units of Public Housing

VLV Development (VLV), a Black and veteran-owned company committed to providing clean, renewable energy in urban communities, announces completion of a first of its kind 1.1MW solar facility that is part of the Bronzeville Micro-Grid Cluster in one of the city’s most iconic neighborhoods.

In collaboration with the local utility and other stakeholders, VLV financed, designed and delivered the solar installation located at Dearborn Homes, a 17-building public housing development serving 660 units of federally subsidized housing. VLV worked with local minority solar trainers, contractors and distributors to support the system’s installation. VGI Energy Solutions, LLC, VLV’s energy division, will provide the operations and maintenance of the facility.

At Dearborn Homes, VLV designed and installed approximately 3,000 solar panels across 16 low-income high-rise buildings, the management office and two ground mounted solar arrays. The smart technology includes 22 inverters with the ability to communicate with the utility’s master controller to support islanding and data gathering across Dearborn Homes’ vast campus. Over the past five years, VLV has installed 1.5MW of solar energy on commercial and residential buildings, churches, as well as ground mount solar facilities in the city of Chicago.

“The Dearborn Homes project is an example of transformative action, brought together to protect vulnerable communities while providing community resilient power,” says Faustina Vincent, Managing Partner, VGI Energy Solutions, LLC.

This project will provide the Chicago Housing Authority, Dearborn Homes, a direct savings in excess of $800,000 over the term of the Power Purchase Agreement. The project created 50 direct and indirect full- and part-time jobs for Black and Brown residents and represents a $4.5 million direct investment in clean energy infrastructure.

“We’re making clean energy and resilience accessible, profitable and affordable across the urban landscape,” says Van Vincent, CEO, VLV Development.

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