ISA task force of corporates on innovation holds first meet

A task force of corporates on innovation set up by the International Solar Alliance (ISA) has held its first meeting here chaired by Japanese multinational SoftBank Corp Chairman Masayoshi Son, a SoftBank statement said on Sunday.

The task force, set up last month, is supposed to give recommendations to promote innovation in areas like solar finance, solar technologies, solar applications, innovations, research and development (R&D) and capacity building.

"The first meeting of the Global Leadership Task Force of Corporates on Innovation constituted by the ISA was convened yesterday (Saturday) evening in New Delhi," the statement said.

"The task force will further aid in developing a proper innovation strategy to address challenges faced by the member countries and partner countries of ISA.

"This is a private sector-led task force under ISA chaired by SoftBank. Its members include GE from the US, TOTAL from France, LG Chem from South Korea, GCL from China, SMA from Germany and State Bank of India from India," it said.

A key focus area of the task force is to establish Solar Technology Application and Resource-Centre (STAR-C) centres of excellence in ISA member countries for creating local capacity for solar innovation, solar R&D, standards, testing, certification, quality control and skills building, it added.

Indian industry chamber Ficci organised the meeting as the convenor and secretariat of the task force, which will continue meeting every quarter.

Among the action points identified at the meeting were developing an innovation strategy for ISA member countries, identifying 6 STAR centres of global excellence, and initiating a Financial Innovation Mission focusing on microfinance, credit enhancement mechanisms, green bonds, among others, to work alongside each Technology Mission, the release said.

"To fulfil its objectives, the task force decided to initiate 4 solar technology missions in the areas of solar modules, storage systems, electrical systems (inverters, transformers) and grids in order to help implementation of ISA programmes in member countries," it said.

Following the meeting, Masayoshi Son said in a statement: "This task force will be the key driver in initiating large-scale solar transformation in all the member countries. Our aim is to expand the footprint of ISA to include many more corporates, and to facilitate this transformative action globally."

--IANS

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