New Delhi: Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur today said in a press release that it has established a new department of sustainable energy engineering. The Board of Governors of the institute gave its approval for this in a meeting held today.
The new department aims to develop academic programmes at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Karandikar said that the new department’s academic programmes shall aim to provide multiple skill-sets to its students, with relevant courses from core engineering disciplines blended with sciences and humanities.
The institute has partnered with Rice University (USA), to create a collaborative research center which will also be a part of the new department.
K Radhakrishnan, chairman of the BoG of IIT Kanpur said that “starting an academic department in this area is a vital initiative serving the educational and technology development related needs of the country.” He commended the institute on achieving this milestone despite the disruptions caused by the pandemic. Abhay Karandikar, director of the institute said, “This initiative comes at an opportune time when the Indian government has committed to source at least 40% of its energy requirement from clean and renewable energy sources by 2030, as pledged in the Paris Agreement.” Karandikar also said that the new department also aims to contribute to India’s bid to become a global leader in the widespread adoption of sustainable energy technologies impacting a variety of sectors such as electricity and transportation.
The institute also said it will “engage in cutting-edge research in frontier and futuristic areas related to energy sustainability with clear focus on new, renewable and alternate energy technologies”.
The institute also plans to build state-of-the-art laboratories for the department. The US-based Mehta Family Foundation has come forward to help with setting up the new Department. Foundation’s President and CEO Rahul Mehta congratulated the institute on the establishment of the new department and said that the opening of this department is an appropriate step for India keeping in view the future energy requirements. Mehta said that the Foundation will partner with the Department in this important journey and would like to see the Department and Rice-IITK’s Collaborative Research Center setting new dimensions in the field of energy sustainability, inspiring next generation of the country to work in this field.
Karandikar said, “The Department’s research will be classified under four major verticals of energy capture and generation, energy storage and distribution, alternative fuels as well as energy, environment and policy”. He also said that “the new department will also emphasize on the translation of its research outcomes into indigenous technology development, prototyping and commercialization, in alignment with Indian government’s flagship programmes such as Make in India, Skill India, Swachchha Bharat and Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Ashish Garg, a professor who is coordinating the efforts related to the new department, said that “the current research focus of the new department will be on energy generation via solar, wind and other clean resources; batteries and supercapacitors; energy storage and distribution; smart grids; carbon capture; clean alternative fuels; waste-to-energy; clean water; and energy policy and economics. The research portfolio will further expand into new areas as the department grows and matures.”
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