Shell India Unites Changemakers to Spark the Future of Energy

Shell India brought together policymakers, entrepreneurs, academia, and technology leaders at the third edition of Changemakers of Tomorrow 2025 in Bengaluru, reaffirming its commitment to collaborative innovation for India’s energy transition. The event reflected how partnerships across sectors are becoming central to achieving the country’s net-zero ambitions, while placing technology and talent at the heart of this transformation.

Inaugurating the two-day platform, Invest India’s MD and CEO Nivruti Rai said India’s innovators are building tomorrow’s energy infrastructure today, noting that initiatives such as Changemakers create opportunities for scaling breakthrough solutions. Mansi Madan Tripathy, Chairperson of Shell Group of Companies India and Senior Vice President, Shell Lubricants Asia Pacific, stressed that the journey to net-zero will rely on bold ideas and game-changing collaborations. “This platform shows how Shell, in partnership with academia, policymakers, and entrepreneurs, is accelerating progress through technology, talent, and trust,” she said.

The event offered a wide range of conversations on the energy transition. Industry leaders including Arundhati Bhattacharya of Salesforce South Asia, N Venu of Hitachi Energy, and Satyakam Arya of Daimler India Commercial Vehicles joined Tripathy in examining how technology is powering a low-carbon future. A fireside chat between Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani and Shell CIO Robbert van Rutten underlined the transformative role of digital innovation in reshaping the energy landscape.

Beyond discussions, the platform showcased real-world innovation. The Shell E4 Demo Day highlighted startups advancing the energy transition, while students presented CSR-led projects and sustainable energy solutions through initiatives like Shell NXplorers. The Shell Eco-marathon featured EV LUNARIS, an electric vehicle developed by engineering students from Trivandrum, underscoring how early-stage innovation is increasingly becoming part of the ecosystem.

The second day moved into themes such as empathy in leadership, open innovation, and phygital partnerships. A keynote by Shantanu Naidu of Tata Motors explored how care-driven leadership nurtures innovation, while panels on digital infrastructure highlighted Shell’s advanced liquid cooling solutions designed to meet the growing energy demands of AI infrastructure. The panel Powering the Future of Digital Infrastructure & Data Centers featured Amit Ghugre, CTO Shell Lubricants India, Gaurav Parulekar, Manager, Product Offering & Marketing, Vertiv; and Adith Chandrashekar, Director, APAC Sales, Unicorn, discussing emerging technologies shaping smart data centers. The session further highlighted Shell’s advanced liquid cooling solutions - direct liquid to chip coolant and immersion fluids – engineered to tackle thermal management challenges for AI infrastructure.

Government voices reinforced the importance of collaboration. Karnataka’s Industrial Development Commissioner Gunjan Krishna noted that MSMEs are central to the state’s industrial growth and said platforms like Changemakers link emerging entrepreneurs with global expertise and scalable opportunities. Shell’s global partners, including Microsoft, Infosys, Salesforce, AWS, TCS, IBM, and Accenture, lent weight to the message that energy innovation requires broad-based alliances cutting across industries.

The conversations at Changemakers 2025 highlighted how innovation, empathy, and partnerships can converge to shape a resilient and inclusive energy future. For Shell India, the platform continues to be an expression of its role in nurturing the next generation of innovators while advancing India’s net-zero journey.

Note to readers: This article is part of Mint’s paid consumer connect Initiative. Mint assumes no editorial involvement or responsibility for errors, omissions, or content accuracy.

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