The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) and Indus Towers Limited, a telecom infrastructure company, have signed an agreement for two transformative research initiatives in sustainable energy. The research will primarily focus on advancing solar power generation and energy storage, aiming to create viable energy solutions. The initiative, a part of Indus Towers’ corporate social responsibility program, Pragati, looks at innovation in solar power and agricultural waste.
Indus Towers, which operates a vast network of telecom mobile towers, is highly dependent on uninterrupted power for its network. While most tower operators have to rely on backup systems that may be fossil-fuel driven, climate imperatives and energy demands are reshaping global priorities. Hence, the move towards greener energy solutions.
Highlighting the importance of creating solutions for a better tomorrow, Prachur Sah, MD & CEO, Indus Towers said “This partnership is a powerful example of industry and academia coming together to address real-world challenges through research and innovation. Research on Perovskite Solar Cell technology and utilising agricultural waste for energy storage is an exciting concept and could become crucial in advancing sustainable energy solutions. We are confident that the research has the potential to revolutionise our approach to clean energy.”
The effort to develop Perovskite Solar Cell technology, where crystalline compounds are used to convert sunlight to electricity, aims at surpassing the limitations of conventional silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells. This next-generation technology is designed to achieve higher efficiency without increasing the existing cell cost. It has extensive applications in both terrestrial and space-based solar systems, developed entirely through indigenous efforts.
The second initiative under this collaboration addresses another critical sustainability challenge—agricultural waste and energy storage. The project aims to develop a scalable method to convert rice straw, an abundant agricultural residue, into doped hard carbon materials. These materials will serve as anodes or additives in sodium-ion batteries, offering a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to lithium-ion technology. This research not only mitigates the environmental hazards of stubble burning but also strengthens the country’s clean energy ecosystem by utilising indigenous, eco-friendly resources.
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This partnership between IIT Bombay and Indus Towers highlights how corporations and academia can work together, showing how IIT can convert scientific ideas into scalable, real-world solutions. It also highlights how CSR funding can be channelled towards innovation and knowledge creation, for sustainable initiatives.