IIT Madras launches TREND Setter program to propel decarbonisation research

The institute hosted 'Industry Day 2023' bringing together stakeholders to prepare strategic initiatives & projects on energy efficiency & carbon trading with a focus on the manufacturing sector

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras Energy Consortium hosted the ‘Industry Day 2023’ on 30th June to discuss pathways towards decarbonising Indian Economy.

During the event, the Energy Consortium launched a ‘TREND Setter’ program to boost decarbonisation research and extended support to two major and five exploratory research projects. These span various topics from green ammonia, carbon capture, battery materials, and sustainable aviation fuels. The Consortium aims to deliver significant outcomes in 12 to 18 months through these projects.

The Industry Day hosted a workshop to deliberate on the two key areas of ‘Energy efficiency’ and ‘Carbon Trading.’ The session was attended by all seven industry founding members (of the consortium) – Shell, Baker Hughes, FLSmidth, Aditya Birla, Cummins, Chevron Tech Ventures, and Infosys.

Apart from the Trend Setter program, the key outcomes of the event included;

• Extending opportunities for Indian Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME)s to decarbonise through Energy
• Efficiency Services Limited (EESL)’s energy efficiency initiative and the Kotak-IITM Save Energy Mission (KISEM) network of assessment centres

Building awareness in carbon trading and the emerging approaches

Highlighting the opportunities that can emerge from decarbonising the Indian economy, Dr Nikhil Tambe, CEO, Energy Consortium, IIT Madras, added, “With the help of our seven industry founding members, the Energy Consortium affiliated faculty are collaboratively advancing research in areas that are of national importance such as energy storage, carbon capture and utilization, sustainable aviation fuels, ammonia production, and power electronics.”

India has committed to cutting the emissions intensity by 45 per cent (of 2005 levels) by 2030. It has been doing this, partly, via the Perform, Achieve, and Trade (PAT) scheme, where around 1,000 industries have been involved in procuring and trading energy-saving certificates (ESCerts).