Electricity demand is going to increase at close to 10%, says R K Singh
The Ministry of Power and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy have jointly launched a National Mission to quickly identify emerging technologies in the power sector and develop them indigenously, at scale, for deployment within and outside India.
Titled “Mission on Advanced and High-Impact Research (MAHIR)”, it aims to facilitate indigenous research, development and demonstration of the latest and emerging technologies in the power sector.
By identifying emerging technologies and taking them to the implementation stage, the Mission seeks to leverage them as the main fuel for future economic growth and thus make India a manufacturing hub of the world.
The Mission will be funded by pooling financial resources of the Ministry of Power, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the Central Public Sector Enterprises under the two Ministries. Any additional funding needed will be mobilized from the Indian Government’s budgetary resources.
Planned for an initial period of five years from 2023-24 to 2027-28, the Mission will follow the technology life cycle approach of Idea to Product.
Commenting on the launch of the MAHIR, Union Power & NRE Minister R. K. Singh said that the Mission will serve as a catalyst for national priorities such as achieving Net Zero emissions and promoting initiatives like Make in India and Start-up India.
He said that it will also contribute towards achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Minister informed, “Given that India is going to grow at more than 7% in coming years, the electricity demand is going to increase at close to 10%.
In addition, India is aiming for energy transition following Prime Minister’s vision of LiFE.
“This requires not only massive investment but also a transformational approach driven by research & innovation.”
Power Secretary Alok Kumar said that MAHIR will work towards Industry-Academia -Government collaboration to create an ecosystem for innovation and translation of research in the power sector.
“MAHIR will work with premier institutions such as IITs, IIMs, NITs, IISERs and Universities on the one hand and public & private power sector start-ups and established industries with government acting as an enabler for creating an innovation ecosystem,” he elaborated.
The key objectives of the Mission are as follows:
To identify emerging technologies and areas of future relevance for the Global Power Sector and take up indigenous end-to-end development of relevant technologies;
To provide a common platform for Power Sector Stakeholders for collective brainstorming, synergetic technology development and devise pathways for smooth transfer of technology;
To support pilot projects of indigenous technologies (developed especially by Indian Start-ups) and facilitate their commercialization;
To leverage foreign alliances and partnerships to accelerate research & development of advanced technologies and to build competencies, capabilities and access to advanced technologies through bilateral or multilateral collaborations, thereby facilitating exchange of knowhow and Technology Transfer;
To seed, nurture and scale up scientific and industrial R&D and to create vibrant & innovative ecosystem in the Power Sector of the country;
To make our Nation among the leading Countries in Power System related Technologies & Applications development.
To begin with, the following eight areas are identified for research:
Alternatives to Lithium-Ion storage batteries;
Modifying electric cookers / pans to suit Indian cooking methods;
Green hydrogen for mobility (High Efficiency Fuel Cell);
Carbon capture;
Geo-thermal energy;
Solid state refrigeration;
Nano technology for EV battery;
Indigenous CRGO technology. Fiinews.com
