IISc, PFC ink MoU for new energy research building

IISc signed an MoU with Power Finance Corporation on March 21 for a new energy research building. The new building will significantly accelerate advanced research in indigenous green hydrogen and net-zero technologies, and increase capacity building through training and degree programmes. 

Indian Institute of Science (IISc) signed an MoU with Power Finance Corporation Limited (PFC) for the establishment of a state-of-the-art building that will house the Interdisciplinary Centre for Energy Research (ICER) at IISc. The agreement was signed on March 21, 2023, in the presence of Mr Ravinder Singh Dhillon, CMD, PFC, and Prof Govindan Rangarajan, Director, IISc, along with other representatives from PFC and IISc.

“We are extremely grateful to Power Finance Corporation Limited for generously funding a new building for the Interdisciplinary Centre for Energy Research," said Prof Rangarajan. "Over the past decade, the Centre has made great strides in energy research and pioneered several indigenous technologies. With climate change accelerating at an alarming pace, it is imperative for academia and industry to join hands and develop novel solutions that can help us achieve net zero emissions," he added.

Countries across the globe are focusing on net zero technologies to mitigate the environmental impact of conventional energy generation. The state-of-the-art building for ICER will foster cutting-edge fundamental and applied research on various energy-related areas, with a special focus on green hydrogen generation. It will be constructed at a cost of INR 60 crore over the next two years. The building will house modern labs, seminar rooms, classrooms and faculty rooms, as well as facilities for developing energy-related products and prototypes. It will also support PhD and Master’s programmes, and foster several collaborative programmes with academic and industry partners. 

The Interdisciplinary Centre for Energy Research (ICER), among the newest research centres at IISc, was conceived in 2012 as a part of the Institute’s post-centenary vision to pursue socially relevant research in line with the Government of India’s national missions. It has since made significant contributions in several areas. For example, its ongoing research on generating green hydrogen from biomass has reached the stage of real-world demonstration in fuel cell buses. It has also established India’s first closed-loop supercritical carbon dioxide-based Brayton cycle power block. ICER has collaborations with several organisations and industries within India and abroad. 

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