01 Introduction

02 HP Udgam Startup Tech Challenge

03 Problem Statements
 About ‘HPCL’

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) is a Maharatna CPSE

Company with a strong presence in the Refining and marketing of
Petroleum Products in the country.

HPCL owns and operates Refineries in Mumbai and Visakhapatnam. HP

Green R&D Centre at Bengaluru is a state-of-the-art research facility for
driving innovation in HPCL.

HPCL has a vast marketing network consisting of 21242 Retail outlets, 6289
LPG distributorships, and more than 125 supply locations.

HPCL has a significant presence in CNG and EV charging stations with 1474
CNG outlets and 2144 EV charging stations.

‘HP Udgam' Startup Initiative

In line with the spirit of the Startup India Initiative of the GOI, HPCL
formulated its Startup India Scheme in 2017 under the name ‘HP Udgam’ to
enable innovators and entrepreneurs to pursue a promising idea, establish
and validate proof of concept (POC) and support commercialization.

Till date ‘HP Udgam’ has supported 24 Startups with seed-stage funding
support. Apart from funding, HP Udgam has provided many startups with
pilot project opportunities and, expert guidance.

https://startup.hpcl.co.in/HPCLStartup/IC_ThemeContest.jsp
HP Udgam Startup Tech Challenge Prizes Benefits (Top 5 – Based on Ranking)

With the goal of fostering a culture of innovation and enabling dreamers to

transition into achievers, the HPCL Startup Initiative ‘HP Udgam,' in
collaboration with SIIC, IIT Kanpur, is orchestrating this Innovation
Challenge.

This challenge is designed to inspire aspiring entrepreneurs and startups

to craft inventive, sustainable, and influential solutions to the pain areas
identified in the Refinery and Retail SBUs.

In addition to the financial rewards, the startups with the most innovative
solutions, may be selected for pilot projects with concerned HPCL SBUs Process & Timelines
subject to detailed due diligence. The selected start-ups will also get a
chance to get incubation, mentoring, access to funding schemes, and
procurement support for prototyping under the guidance of SIIC, IIT Kanpur. 01 02
Who Can Participate?
Entry Submission Round 1 Shortlisting
Any Startup registered with DPIIT or an Individual in association
Last Date: 15-12-2023 Shortlisting of 20 Entries - Online Pitching –
with any Startup can submit their entries (solutions to any of the 31/12/2023
NINE pain areas) by uploading the slides as per the PPT template
hosted on the below website:
https://startup.hpcl.co.in/HPCLStartup/IC_ThemeContest.jsp
03 04
For any queries, please write us: Udgam@mail.hpcl.co.in Round 2 Shortlisting Grand Finale
T Jayasurya (tjayasurya@hpcl.in 9849027242)
Sayan Chakraborty (sayan.chakraborty@hpcl.in 7045594849) Shortlisting of Five Entries - Online Pitching – Physical round at Mumbai/Pune- 16/01/24
Ankit Saxena (ankit@iitkfirst.com 9911684182) Jan’24
 Pain Areas
S No: Pain Area

1 Business Potential Assessment of Retail Outlets

2 Management of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

3 Completion and Monitoring of Safety Audits of Retail Outlets

4 Internal Corrosion in Piping Corrosion Circuits in Refineries

5 Corrosion in Insulated Pipes of Refineries

6 Welding in Fire Hazardous Areas

7 M&R Inspections of Storage Tanks

8 Monitoring & Training of Unskilled Manpower in Refineries

9 Any other problem of Petroleum Refining and Marketing

* Please visit the website for a detailed description of the problem statements and desired outcomes
 Problem Statements & Desired Outcomes

Business Potential Assessment of Retail Outlets

Problem Statement
The Government of India is developing many new green-field /access-controlled highways in a big way. The lack of
structured historical data on the trading area is severely hampering the process of identifying new sites suitable for
setting up Retail Outlets. Estimating the business potential in a scientific manner by origin-destination/route
deviation study or by other means is absent in the industry. Providing wayside amenities is a new trend in the
petroleum business as non-fuel retailing revenue is becoming a major part of income for Petroleum companies.
01 Most of the way-side amenity providers like Ready-to-eat and Take-away food providers are MNCs. Partnering with
these MNCs like McDonald’s, Domino’s, KFC, etc. involves huge investments by the Petroleum Companies. Moreover,
the products and services provided by these MNCs are expensive to a lot of customers, especially those travelling on
intercity buses. To address this challenge, the data of local wayside amenity partners such as Honest Food Chain in
Gujarat, Kailash Parbat, etc. in Maharashtra may be identified.

Expected Outcome
The expected outcome is to develop an IT tool for assessing the business potential of fuels for setting up Retail outlets
on Greenfield/Access-Controlled Highways through an Origin-Destination/Route Deviation Study. Also, the
application needs to be developed to capture data on suitable partners (local brands) for way-side amenities
available in that particular area.

For any queries, please write us to the following email id: Udgam@mail.hpcl.co.in
Contact Nos.: T Jayasurya (tjayasurya@hpcl.in 9849027242) Sayan Chakraborty ( sayan.chakraborty@hpcl.in 7045594849)
Ankit Saxena (ankit@iitkfirst.com 9911684182)
 Problem Statements & Desired Outcomes

Management of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Problem Statement
As part of its vision to contribute to a sustainable future, HPCL has set an ambitious target to install at least 5000
Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS) by 2025 (already installed over 2500 EVCS). It is estimated that there is a
promising business case for further expanding the EVCS network. To support this growth and ensure the seamless
02 functioning of our EVCS infrastructure, a comprehensive maintenance and management system is required.

Expected Outcome
The expected outcome is a comprehensive, technologically advanced and scalable EVCS maintenance and
management system that ensures optimal performance, reliability, and user-friendliness of HPCL's EV charging
infrastructure. This system will support the ambitious installation targets, enhance customer experience, and
contribute to the growth of the electric vehicle ecosystem.

For any queries, please write us to the following email id: Udgam@mail.hpcl.co.in
Contact Nos.: T Jayasurya (tjayasurya@hpcl.in 9849027242) Sayan Chakraborty ( sayan.chakraborty@hpcl.in 7045594849)
Ankit Saxena (ankit@iitkfirst.com 9911684182)
 Problem Statements & Desired Outcomes

Completion and Monitoring of Safety Audits of Retail Outlets

Problem Statement
Currently, the safety audits for HPCL retail outlets are conducted as per manual but findings are manually recorded
later on the portal. However, this process has proven to be cumbersome and time-consuming in uploading the data,
leading to delays in completing the audits. To overcome these challenges and enhance efficiency, it is required to
03 adopt newer technology to facilitate on-site safety audits less-cumbersome and instant upload of audit findings.

Expected Outcome
The expected outcome is implementing a user-friendly mobile application that simplifies safety audits for HPCL retail
outlets. The app should expedite the audit process, allowing for a higher frequency of audits, and timely identification
of safety issues with a structured monitoring of compliance efforts. Data security may be achieved by integrating
blockchain technology.

For any queries, please write us to the following email id: Udgam@mail.hpcl.co.in
Contact Nos.: T Jayasurya (tjayasurya@hpcl.in 9849027242) Sayan Chakraborty ( sayan.chakraborty@hpcl.in 7045594849)
Ankit Saxena (ankit@iitkfirst.com 9911684182)
 Problem Statements & Desired Outcomes

Internal Corrosion in Piping Corrosion Circuits in Refineries

Problem Statement
Internal corrosion prediction has great potential for the improvement of asset integrity. Refinery corrosion can be
split into low-temperature corrosion, high-temperature corrosion, and waterside (salt cooling water, bearing cooling
water, boiler feed water, condensate, fresh water, etc.) corrosion. Low-temperature corrosion occurs at temperatures
below 500 deg F (260 deg C) usually in the presence of water. It is often called aqueous corrosion, wet corrosion, or
electrochemical corrosion. Low-temperature corrosion requires the presence of an aqueous solution, even in very
04 small amounts, and an electrolyte in a hydrocarbon stream. In vapor streams, low-temperature corrosion is often
found under dew point conditions where water collects. High-temperature corrosion occurs at temperatures above
500 deg F (260 deg C) with no water present. Using oxygen as an example, corrosion is the result of a reaction
between a metal and oxygen. Sulfur compounds, steam, carbon-containing gases, fuel ash components, and
naphthenic acids are other chemicals, which can cause severe high-temperature corrosion in refinery process
equipment. In refining applications, the material /environment interactions are extremely varied; many refineries
have different process units, each having its own combination of corrosive process streams and
temperature/pressure conditions. Once the equipment is placed in service, it is subject to operating, upset, and/or
downtime conditions that can cause deterioration or damage to equipment from mechanisms other than corrosion
such as creep, fatigue, erosion, and embrittlement. Corrosion and other damage often lead to failures in refining
processes at high and low-temperature conditions, the type and mechanism depending on the process conditions
and contaminants in the process.

For any queries, please write us to the following email id: Udgam@mail.hpcl.co.in
Contact Nos.: T Jayasurya (tjayasurya@hpcl.in 9849027242) Sayan Chakraborty ( sayan.chakraborty@hpcl.in 7045594849)
Ankit Saxena (ankit@iitkfirst.com 9911684182)
 Problem Statements & Desired Outcomes

Internal Corrosion in Piping Corrosion Circuits in Refineries (Contd…)

Expected Outcome
Methodology to be developed for online prediction, and monitoring of corrosive circuits. Mitigation measures are to
be developed to ensure the reliability of these circuits.
To start with, based on current failures, the following are the circuits that require consistent monitoring and
deliberation to ascertain the failure mode and preventive measures
04 1. NHDT ISOM - Reactor effluent circuit from CFE to AFC & Stripper overhead circuit
2. NHT CCR - Reactor effluent circuit from CFE to AFC
3. NHGU - PDS pre-heat exchanger circuit
4. FRE VPS - VPS overhead condenser circuit
5. FR & FRE desalter downstream circuit based on different crude assays
6. SEU I, II, III- NMP condenser circuit, DHT, DIU, LOUP Reactor effluent circuit
7. RHSD circuits, Slop circuit, Amine circuits, Sour water, and gas circuits
8. ATF product lines, SCW lines,
9. Bearing cooling water, Boiler feed water, condensate, fresh water etc.

For any queries, please write us to the following email id: Udgam@mail.hpcl.co.in
Contact Nos.: T Jayasurya (tjayasurya@hpcl.in 9849027242) Sayan Chakraborty ( sayan.chakraborty@hpcl.in 7045594849)
Ankit Saxena (ankit@iitkfirst.com 9911684182)
 Problem Statements & Desired Outcomes

Corrosion in Insulated Pipes of Refineries

Problem Statement
Insulation is used over heated surfaces that are operated above 50 deg. C. Currently, Rockwool-based fibrous
insulation material is used for heat conservation. Corrosion under insulation (CUI) refers to corrosion of piping,
pressure vessels, and structural components resulting from water trapped under insulation. When water wicks into
and fills the insulation material sitting against the steel surface of equipment operating at a temperature that is not
05 hot enough to quickly drive away wetness, will experience CUI because of these repeated long intervals of wetness.
The CUI damage can be in an entire process vessel, a tiny spot, a through-film scratch, a defect, or a pinhole. CUI
damage is noted in the form of pitting, scaling, or metal flaking. CUI causes a major risk to equipment integrity with a
potential safety and cost impact.

Expected Outcome
The expected outcome is to identify/ manufacture NDT technological process that can pinpoint CUI location along
the available thickness of assets before its failure. It shall be fast, non-hazardous, non-operator dependent, etc. Also,
it can be used online without removing insulation.

For any queries, please write us to the following email id: Udgam@mail.hpcl.co.in
Contact Nos.: T Jayasurya (tjayasurya@hpcl.in 9849027242) Sayan Chakraborty ( sayan.chakraborty@hpcl.in 7045594849)
Ankit Saxena (ankit@iitkfirst.com 9911684182)
 Problem Statements & Desired Outcomes

Welding in Fire Hazardous Areas

Problem Statement
Hazardous areas in refineries are places where flammable substances, such as gases, vapors, or combustible
/explosive vapors, are present in sufficient quantities to cause a fire or explosion during the welding/ hot jobs. Some
of the hazard areas are areas having explosive vapors, pipelines using butt welds, piping weld joints using fillet welds,
socket welds, structural T joints, lap joints, butt joints, pipelines containing hydrocarbon, butt joints of pipeline and
06 fillet joints. Many times, plant shutdown needs to be taken to attend to even a small welding job in hazardous areas.
One of the possibilities is a cold-welding process instead of fusion welding. Cold welding, also known as cold
pressure welding or contact welding is a welding process that joins two clean metal surfaces together by using
enough pressure to create metallurgical bonds. Unlike other welding processes that use heat and molten material to
fuse the metals together, cold welding has the ability to join metals without heat energy to create a -perfect bond
between the materials.

Expected Outcome
Development of welding process and welding procedure specification (WPS) through cold welding or any other type
of welding (without using heat) for use in hazardous areas where a hot permit cannot be issued. The weld quality
shall be equally good as of fusion welding.

For any queries, please write us to the following email id: Udgam@mail.hpcl.co.in
Contact Nos.: T Jayasurya (tjayasurya@hpcl.in 9849027242) Sayan Chakraborty ( sayan.chakraborty@hpcl.in 7045594849)
Ankit Saxena (ankit@iitkfirst.com 9911684182)
 Problem Statements & Desired Outcomes

M&R Inspections of Storage Tanks

Problem Statement

M&R of the tanks is carried out as per the work list and the outage plan. Recently, it has been observed that the mean
time to repair (MTTR) required for completing all the jobs as per the worklist has increased. On an average, the tank is
under M&R for 2-3 years which is affecting the availability of the tanks for storage. Hence, there is a need to reduce
07 the MTTR (outage time for maintenance) of the storage tank.

Expected Outcome

The expected outcome is to develop a tool to analyze the work list, job scope, monitor the critical path, plan activities,
monitor material availability, follow-up/reminders, anticipate /mitigate risks, etc. so that the time duration required
for M&R is reduced.

For any queries, please write us to the following email id: Udgam@mail.hpcl.co.in
Contact Nos.: T Jayasurya (tjayasurya@hpcl.in 9849027242) Sayan Chakraborty ( sayan.chakraborty@hpcl.in 7045594849)
Ankit Saxena (ankit@iitkfirst.com 9911684182)
 Problem Statements & Desired Outcomes

Training and Monitoring of Unskilled Manpower

Problem Statement

Central Public Sector Undertakings have played a pivotal role in adding value to the economy by deploying qualified
engineers /technicians and continuously developing their skills. Accordingly, to promote a certified and skilled
workforce under the ‘Skill India Mission’, it is imperative to promote the hiring of certified skilled manpower across
the value chain impacting the operations. Most of the time, the contractor mobilizes the unskilled or semi-skilled
08 workforce with no previous similar work experience, which often leads to safety violations at locations, variations in
service quality, and operational inefficiency.

Expected Outcome

To develop a comprehensive system that focuses on the following activities to develop unskilled manpower:
1) Impart profile-specific training and certification
2) Impart certified training on common basic soft skills, safety compliances, record keeping, and emergency
response measures.
3) Monitoring of safety and other compliances with alerts on violations.

For any queries, please write us to the following email id: Udgam@mail.hpcl.co.in
Contact Nos.: T Jayasurya (tjayasurya@hpcl.in 9849027242) Sayan Chakraborty ( sayan.chakraborty@hpcl.in 7045594849)
Ankit Saxena (ankit@iitkfirst.com 9911684182)
 Problem Statements & Desired Outcomes

Any other problem of Petroleum Refining and Marketing

09 Technologically innovative solutions for any other problem in Petroleum Refining

and Marketing areas can be submitted under this category.

For any queries, please write us to the following email id: Udgam@mail.hpcl.co.in
Contact Nos.: T Jayasurya (tjayasurya@hpcl.in 9849027242) Sayan Chakraborty ( sayan.chakraborty@hpcl.in 7045594849)
Ankit Saxena (ankit@iitkfirst.com 9911684182)