Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K) will soon set up a department of Sustainable Energy Engineering which will aim to help India’s clean and renewable energy sector grow faster. The Board of Governors of IIT Kanpur approved the establishment of the department in a meeting held on December 7, said Director Dr Abhay Karandikar.
Dr K Radhakrishnan, Chairman of the Board of Governors 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. Adding to that, Dr Karandikar said, “This initiative comes at an opportune time when the Indian government has committed to source at least 40 per cent of its energy requirement from clean and renewable energy sources by 2030, as pledged in the Paris Agreement." He 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 new department will try to develop high-quality academic programmes at both the undergraduate and post-graduate levels. The Director 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 curriculum will train the students to become well-rounded energy engineers who will become assets to the industry as well as academia and research organisations. It will also engage in cutting-edge research in frontier and futuristic areas related to energy sustainability with a clear focus on new, renewable and alternate energy technologies.
"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. The new department will also emphasise 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."
Dr Ashish Garg, who is coordinating the setting up of the new department, said, "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.”
