IIT Madras Energy Summit sets clean and green goal

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras will host an Energy Summit from December 14 to 16 with a goal to achieve global transformation to a low-carbon future through industry and academic collaboration.

IIT Madras also launched a Global Energy Consortium at the summit to progress towards a low-carbon future. The consortium will work in collaboration with the industry on areas such as carbon capture and storage, gas hydrates, renewable energy systems and beyond lithium energy storage technologies.

IIT Madras has seven dedicated research initiatives in energy sector. These initiatives will form the core of the Global Energy Consortium in pursuing cutting-edge interdisciplinary research and forging global networks to address India’s energy challenges.

Speaking on Energy for Aatmanirbhar India at the inaugural session of the summit, K. Vijay Raghavan, principal scientific adviser to the Indian government, said: “About Aatmanirbhar, my interpretation is that you are not dependent on supply chains which, if broken, throttle you. It is a requirement for a country this size to have a basal level of capability and capacity and the ability to implement this capacity constantly either in emergencies or in a routine process.”

IIT Madras offers industry partners greater research productivity and cost advantage in comparison to fellow institutions in India and abroad.

Focusing on the Indo-Australia partnership for a carbon-neutral world, Sarah Kirlew, Australian consul general, Chennai, said, “This summit comes at a time when finding sustainable ways to use our energy reserves for global development and halting and addressing the impact of climate change are on top of the mind for many. I want to emphasise three key messages: Australia does have a strong domestic record of achievement in reducing emissions and a clear path to developing technology to do more; Second, we want to work with India to accelerate the transition to a clean energy global economy; And third, that partnership can go beyond just Australia and India to support vulnerable communities to meet the challenge of climate impact including climate financing.”

Raghunathan Rengaswamy, dean (global engagement) at IIT Madras, spoke about IIT Madras as an Institute of Eminence. “This is the institute that has the largest amount of consultancy money coming in. Around Rs 250 crore worth of consultancy is done every year, which is about the largest number in all of India. That really tells you how some of the work that we do is really industrially important,” he said.