IIT Madras Energy Consortium hosts Energy Summit 2022 to power the Global Transformation to a Low Carbon Future

CHENNAI : Indian Institute of Technology Madras’ (IIT Madras) Energy Consortium is organizing Energy Summit 2022 to power the global transformation to a low-carbon future. Over 400 industry leaders, faculty, researchers, and students from academia besides policymakers and Government officials are taking part in this summit, being held on 8th and 9th December 2022 at IIT Madras Research Park.

Highlighting the importance of collaborations between India and Australia, Ms. Sarah Kirlew, Australian Consul General for South India, said, “The bilateral relationship between Australia and India is at an all-time high. As part of our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, our governments and leaders are working together to ensure a clean and sustainable environment for future generations. The Australian Parliament has recently passed the Climate Change Act which demonstrated Australia’s commitment to a stable investment environment for renewable energy and zero emissions technology investment.”

Further, Ms. Sarah Kirlew said, “Australia is now one of 22 countries to enshrine our emissions reductions targets into law. Australia’s increased target is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 43% by 2030. I am confident that the Australia-India Centre for Energy being inaugurated today, will play a pivotal role in the transition efforts made by India and Australia, supporting the two nations with cutting edge research and capacity building outputs as we increase the use of new and renewable energy technologies. I am so delighted that IIT Madras will be spearheading the Centre from the Indian side in its formative years with Deakin representing Australia. IIT Madras has been one of the strongest educational partners for Australian Universities with over 19 MOUS including joint PhD programs.”

Addressing the inaugural session of the Energy Summit 2022, today (8th December 2022), Dr. Monica Kennedy, Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner, Australian Trade and Investment Commission, spoke about the opportunity for collaboration in meeting shared ambitions for a green future.

Dr. Monica Kennedy said, “Like India, Australia has itself embarked on an ambitious agenda for change. Our education and research institutions are taking a lead. The technologies we develop must be accompanied by social change – and education provides a significant lever. India-Australia research and development relationships provide a meeting of our esteemed institutions in this agenda, and their cooperation underpins opportunity to deliver real change beneficial to us all.”

The 2022 edition of the flagship event is showcasing emerging technologies and will focus on climate action in India and the world through sessions with researchers from academia and industries all across the globe.

The key themes for this year’s summit are:

Ø Energy Efficiency, Economics and Climate Finance

Ø CO2 capture technologies, utilization and storage

Ø Hydrogen economy

Ø Renewable integration and storage

Ø Transitional energy pathways

The themes of Energy Summmit 2022, which is the second edition, are designed to have the discourse dovetail into India’s five nationally determined contributions towards climate change mitigation, or ‘Panchamrit,’ announced by the Hon’able Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

Speaking on this occasion, Prof. Raghunathan Rengaswamy, Dean (Global Engagement), IIT Madras, said, “India has set itself an ambitious set of climate-related goals called ‘Panchamrit’ and attaining these goals will require close collaborations between universities, industries and governments. IIT Madras is excited to be at the forefront of such initiatives through our Energy Consortium, which is organizing this Energy Summit 2022. A direct outgrowth of such efforts is the launch of the ‘Australia – India Centre for Energy.’”

The Summit provides a platform for thought leaders and experts from industry, academia and government to collaborate on energy transition towards a low-carbon future. It is also aimed at boosting global engagement with the presence of domain experts from North Africa (NA), Europe, Asia and Australia.

Speaking on occasion, Prof. Satyanarayanan Seshadri, Faculty in-charge, Energy Consortium, said, “We certainly believe that the technology solutions deployed at scale in India will become the solutions for the world. At the Energy Consortium, we have embarked on this journey to build a platform to engage with global industries, institutions and governments to accelerate the transformation to a low carbon future. Energy Summit 2022 is the place where collaborations happen and solutions evolve.”

An ‘Australia – India Centre for Energy’ (AICE), being spearheaded by IIT Madras jointly with other Indian and Australian premier institutions, was also launched during this energy summit. It will work towards achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal 7, which seeks to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all” and also specifically in strategic areas such as critical minerals, clean technology, education and innovation.

The Key Summit highlights include

Ø Plenary lecture by Dr Ashish Lele, Director, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, on ‘Role of green hydrogen in India’s Atmanirbhar clean energy ambitions’

Ø Keynotes by thought leaders: Prof Ashok Jhunjhunwala, President, IIT Madras Research Park, and Dr. Vikram Rao, former Executive Director of RTEC, retired as SVP & CTO of Halliburton), industry and start-up experts Vasu Guruswamy (Co-Founder Lavni Ventures) and Dr Rahul Walawalkar (President & MD – CES and President IESA, and leading global academics Prof. Praveen Linga, National University of Singapore, and Prof Tiffany Walsh from Deakin University, Australia

Ø Two high-powered panel discussions on ‘Pathways to Panchamrit’ and ‘How to accelerate the decarbonization journey’ (Speakers: Industry heads, NITI Aayog, Department of Science & Technology, IIT/IIM)

Ø Aye-aye-tea forums, ingeniously christened and conducted in a townhall format, that will elicit inclusive deliberations from all perspectives of the energy ecosystem. A focused discussion on ‘How to make EV travel safer?’ besides showcasing of technology that will demonstrate progress made in energy efficiency, energy storage, and renewable energy alternatives.

Ø Contributed talks that will present cutting-edge research from senior leaders in industry, academia and government research labs