Japanese electric company NEC to expand research work in India

Japanese electrical giant NEC is looking to expand its research on Indian energy market through collaboration with two Indian institutes.

NEC is seeking tie-ups with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, and the Energy Resources Institute, said Dr Ratnesh K Sharma, Department Head for Energy Management at NEC Laboratories America.

"We are trying to collaborate with them in understanding the Indian scenarios better and get them involved in our research," Sharma told PTI on Monday.

"We have started talking to IIT Delhi," he added.

NEC's research work will include micro-grids for new townships, energy management systems for commercial buildings, photovoltaic (PV) energy integration into the main grid, and study of energy market, including tariff structures.

"PV is significant if it is adopted in the right way in India," said Sharma while attending the launch of NEC's new research centre in Singapore.

NEC is also planning to test diesel-powered generators for the Indian market.

The research would be done in India within the next one year to two years.

"NEC is also in advance discussions with a number of customers in India to install its Energy Management and Control System," said Manish Kasliwal, head of the Smart Energy Business at NEC Asia Pacific Pte Ltd in Singapore.

"We can reduce costs up to 30 % of the energy operating expense. We have done some trials in the region and we have proven it," Kasliwal said.

NEC is already working with SRM University in Chennai on managing energy operating expenses across in its campus.