Cummins-IISc pact to boost bio-mass power

Diesel engines major Cummins India Limited (CIL) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have entered into an agreement for commercilisation of bio-mass gasification power generation systems.

Under the pact, CIL and IISc will work together for development of power generation systems based on open down draft biomass gasification developed by ABETS, IISc.

According to the company, CIL will lunch new generator systems which are designed to work on gassifiers modelled on the IISc technology. Generator sets will be available from 25 kwe to multiple unit power plants over 1.5 mwe.

Under the agreement, CIL will manufacture pre-integrated generator sets to be used in projects developed internally or approved by IISc.

Bio-mass is a low-cost sustainable fuel which reduces cost of power generation substantially.

Currently, there are over 24 sites where feasibility of the technology and improvements have been demonstrated. While bio-mass gasification has been available for the past three decades, collaboration and commercilisation of the technology with unique products are taking place at a considerable pace.

Rampraveen Swaminathan, vice-president (power generation business), CIL, said, "Cummins is committed to developing low cost and sustainable fuels for power generation technologies . This initiative provides a significant life cycle cost advantage over hydrocarbon fuels and also enables us to develop sustainable energy systems. Over the past two years we have been working on making several changes in our engine and genset designs to ensure that our products meet desired efficiency levels. The systems can provide power plants up to 1.5 mwe which makes it an attractive option for industry as well."