Centre of excellence in energy sector planned at IIT-Bombay
03 Jan 2019
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Public sector oil companies, Engineers India Ltd and IIT Bombay are coming together for setting up a Centre of Excellence in oil, gas and energy. The announcement was announced at a function attended by union minister of petroleum and natural gas and skill development and entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan and petroleum secretary M M Kutty.
The Centre of excellence is expected to provide a competitive advantage to India’s oil and gas industry. It is aimed at collaborative research and capability building in the areas of oil, gas and energy. It will work towards developing sustainable solutions and explore new frontiers in technology for future energy needs.
The Centre of Excellence will leverage the expertise available with IIT Bombay and the oil and gas industry. It will also provide an institutionalised platform for industry-academia interactions. The Centre of Excellence is expected to help in fostering innovations and help in developing a future ready energy industry in the country, according to the petroleum ministry.
Speaking on the occasion, Dharmendra Pradhan said the MoU will meet the need of the Mission Green, as it will encourage research and development in the sector and also do the capacity building.
He said while energy is the prime requirement for all activities in the modern world, he said, Indian appetite for energy is increasing day by day, and we have to provide for clean, affordable and accessible energy sources.
He said that there is need for mass production through domestic sources, and distribution through decentralization, Pradhan said adding that the technological and industrial changes are happening very fast, and the coming together of the academic and industrial organisations will give best results.
He said that there is a need to put academic research in the entrepreneurial mode, so that results are effective. The minister said the MoU should be outcome based and must have roadmap for deliverables, and it should set examples for others.
“India is a large energy market, and effort should be made to develop our own petroleum standards. We should strive to be leaders in biomass conversion and hydrogen-based energy. IIT Bombay, being the premier institute, should provide the missing link and help in evolving new strategies in the sector,” he said.
