The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M), has established a research group that is targeting over 1 GigaTon (GT) in cumulative CO2 emission reduction by 2035. The key objective of this group, called The Energy Consortium, is to develop ‘technology sandboxes’ to de-risking research and development in the energy sector, which could be capital-intensive. The researchers aim to achieve these savings by developing new and advanced technologies and advising the industry on energy efficiency measures.
It comprises eight Centres of Excellence and has onboard 10 major multinational and Indian companies as partners. The Consortium is working with 20 university and research institute partners, including international institutes.
Satyanarayanan Seshadri, Centre Head, The Energy Consortium, IIT-Madras, told The Hindu: “The industries that are collaborating, include Shell Baker Hughes, Cummins, FLSmidth, Aditya Birla Group, Chevron, Infosys, Technip Energies, CPCL and NLC India Limited.”
According to him, “The Consortium aims to be a critical contributor to India’s Net Zero journey by providing valuable R&D assistance to Indian industries in low carbon energy transition pathways. Industry can de-risk their R&D efforts through this consortium and get access to a large and talented pool of energy researchers.”
Nikhil Tambe, CEO, The Energy Consortium, IIT-Madras, said, “The global transition to a net zero economy should not just be an environmental imperative but also seen as an economic opportunity.”
The Consortium is also working with manufacturing units to lower Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, decarbonise the industry and nurture climate tech start-ups. This research group was established at IIT-Madras, with funding from the ‘Institute of Eminence’ initiative of the Government of India.
Mr. Seshadri also mentioned that in partnership with the Kotak-IIT-M Save Energy Mission (KISEM), a CSR initiative of Kotak Mahindra Bank, the researchers envisage visiting over 900 firms across the country in the next five years, totalling to 1.8 lakh man hours, assessing existing energy consumption patterns, providing consultancy free of cost on energy-efficiency measures, generating savings and identifying pathways to reduce scope 1 and scope 2 GHG emission. The group is also working with small and medium sector industries to assess and quantify their carbon footprint.
Original News Link
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/iit-madras-energy-research-group-accelerating-net-zero-targets-1-gt-in-co2-reduction-by-2035/article68642801.ece
