Ratan Tata Backs Fuel-to-door Startup Repos Energy, Again Repos, which won the National Startup Award 2021 earlier this year, has secured INR 56 crore. The startup plans to use the funds to expand its product line, grow in different geographies in the country, build workforce and strengthen technology
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
Pune-based Repos Energy has raised a pre-series A round of funding from chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, Ratan Tata, along with other undisclosed investors. The fresh funds of INR 56 crore is in a combination of equity and debt.
"Our ultimate goal is to make all clean fuels available at a single click of the phone and bring it to the doorstep of our customers through an e-commerce platform. Currently, India's infrastructure is heavily dependent on diesel, and it is our responsibility to use it sustainably," said Aditi Bhosale Walunj, founder, Repos Energy, in a statement.
"The concept of mobile energy distribution has been supported by the PMO, the ministry of petroleum and natural gas, PESO, OMCs, and OEMs (automobile manufacturers)," adds Chetan Walunj, founder, Repos.
In July 2015, the government of India launched FuelEnt, a flagship initiative intended to empower fuel entrepreneurs to grow through innovation and design. The ministry of petroleum and natural gas envisioned a policy for doorstep diesel delivery through enabling startups to resell high-speed diesel (HSD) to businesses.
According to the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), the demand for HSD is expected to go up from 27 crore litre in 2019 to 43 crore litre in the next 10 years. Since proposed retail outlets are highly unlikely to be able to fulfill such a demand, 'FuelEnts' will strive to bridge the supply and demand gap through doorstep fuel delivery.
As a part of its efforts to re-fuel the energy distribution sector for a "carbon-light' tomorrow, Repos Energy is now working on bringing renewable energies such as ethanol, methanol and biofuels on its mobile distribution network, claimed the statement.
"Repos is a well-conceived project with good execution. I wish them all the success," said Ratan Tata, who has invested in the company for the second time.
Repos Energy was founded in 2017 by the Walunj husband-wife duo to elevate a homegrown petrol pump business in Maharashtra to a dynamic energy grid. The couple aims to provide cost-effective solutions for India's ever-growing need for energy logistics. The company is present in over 220 cities across the country through its 1,500-plus partners and over 2,500 Repos Mobile Fuel Pumps.
