Stepone Tech has been asked to work with the Indian Ministry of Energy to create standards enabling the use of renewable fuels in the country. The company, which is looking for international money, is currently launching a distribution pilot with a local gas station giant.
A mischievous growth company Stepone Tech has been able to develop recommendations for the utilization of ethanol in vehicles with the Indian Ministry of Energy and the country’s largest oil companies.
It all started about a year and a half ago, when the company received an invitation to an Indian trade fair.
“Our American partner United States Grains Council wanted us on display in India. We made it to the local car fair, after which things started rolling forward quickly,” says the company’s CEO Tuomo Isokivijärvi.
Stepone Tech has developed a technology that converts a standard gasoline engine to run on ethanol-containing biofuel or a mixture of ethanol and fossil gasoline.
An additional device is installed in a regular car, which costs less than 600 euros in Finland, and roughly 300 euros in India.
According to the company, its products reduce fossil greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80 percent compared to gasoline engines.
India aims to rapidly increase the use of renewable fuels and is planning standards to support this goal. Ethanol is one of the raw materials.
India is indeed a promising market area for the Pirkka company: around 20 million new combustion engine vehicles are sold in the country every year. The transition to electric cars is difficult in India, because electricity there is relatively expensive, it is largely produced with coal and the electricity grid does not cover all areas.
Manufacturing in India under consideration
Now the company also has a partnership with a large Indian gasoline distributor, which is increasing its distribution of renewables.
The company is currently considering new designs for production. Currently, the company manufactures its product with the help of subcontractors in Pirkkala, but manufacturing outside India can become expensive in the long run due to heavy import duties, says Isokivijärvi.
One possibility is to establish a cooperative company. “We have a few cooperation channels through which we are currently looking for different options in the country,” says Isokivijärvi.
The United States is also a promising market for the company: there are almost 300 million combustion engine vehicles.
International funding round underway
The company is currently discussing with international capital investors about financing of 5–10 million euros.
“We have A financing underway, we are looking for money from impact funds. Our strength is working technology, which has already been sold for around 15 million euros, so we believe we are in a good position,” says Isokivijärvi.
He doesn’t seem particularly concerned about competing technologies or product copying by Asian players.
“We only sell tested and functional technology with additional features for motorists. Cheap solutions can’t compete with us because they don’t work in the long term.”
Fact
Stepone Tech Oy
The company was founded in 2012.
The majority of the company is owned by its founders Tuomo Isokivijärvi, Pekka Salo, Risto Härkönen and Miika Hölttä.
Also involved are Suomen Vaikuttavussijoitus and C2 Ventures, as well as private investors.
The turnover in 2022 was 6.1 million euros, the operating result 0.9 million euros.
Headquarters and production in Pirkkala.
There are 25 employees.