Saint-Gobain India, IIT-Madras Research Park inks MoU to promote RE in buildings
French glass and building material manufacturer Saint-Gobain and IIT Madras Research Park have announced that they have signed an agreement to work in partnership on technologies to promote utmost use of clean energy as part of net-zero carbon emission goals.
As part of the MoU signed on Thursday, Saint-Gobain India will be supporting IIT Madras Research Park with a funding of Rs. 1 crore over the next three years.
The purpose of the partnership is to focus on tackling energy challenges and promote maximum use of alternate energy sources. With a focus to develop sustainable models and ensure energy efficiency, IIT Madras Research Park plans to create an energy storage mechanism within the campus that will permit it to operate principally on energy generated from renewable sources.
On successful demonstration, the methodology could help demonstrate the technology readiness and commercial feasibility of moving towards 100 percent renewable energy in commercial complexes.
Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala, President, IIT Madras Research Park (IITMRP) and IIT Madras Incubation Cell (IITMIC) stated "The idea is to set up a solar or wind plant in Tamil Nadu under captive mode and wheel the energy to the research park. Since solar and wind are not available 24/7, we plan to build a storage system for energy. We have already built cold water storage where we chill the water when we have excess energy and use it whenever required. Similarly, we are going to build lithium-ion battery storage that will help us put the storage for clean energy. And we are going to do it in a commercially viable manner. It costs lesser than the cost of electricity, including the cost of the storage, its depreciation cost, and interest rate. Once we prove this, this is doable in any commercial building in the country."
The partnership aims to showcase the IIT Madras Research Park campus as a model for other commercial building complexes in the country.
P Padmakumar, Executive Director – Human Resources and Head-CSR, Saint-Gobain India. Said "Together, we will collaborate in areas such as research and application on renewable energy storage, advanced technology, innovation, and knowledge for sustainable changes. We are looking forward to working on similar models to take the lead to help India achieve the target of 100 percent renewable energy."
