Union minister RK Singh laid foundation for new ICER building at IISc

BENGALURU : Union Minister for power and new and renewable energy R K Singh on Thursday laid the foundation stone for the building of the new Interdisciplinary Centre for Energy Research (ICER) at Indian Institute of Science (IISc) here. The Power Finance Corporation (PFC) has provided financial assistance of Rs 60.74 crore for the construction of the ICER building, under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.

The proposed modern and technologically advanced facility of ground plus three floors aims to replace the aging infrastructure currently housing ICER, an official release said.

The building will have laboratories, classrooms, seminar rooms, meeting spaces, a library and computing facilities, it said. The construction is being undertaken by Central Public Works Department (CPWD) and is scheduled to be completed by March 2026. ICER's research initiatives focus on a spectrum of renewable energy domains, including developing net zero technology to generate green hydrogen; using supercritical carbon dioxide (sCo2) to reduce emissions; power and turbine technology, and clean coal Technology.

They are also into pioneering research and development activities on green energy technologies such as the generation of hydrogen and other biofuels from biomass, advanced batteries and energy storage systems and sustainable technologies.

Renewable energy generation

Speaking on this occasion, minister Singh said that by 2030, the consumption of fossil fuels would be reduced by 50 per cent and renewable energy production capacity in the country would be increased. "In addition to 500 GW of renewable energy generation in the country, an additional 25 GW is targeted for next year. An investment of Rs 1.37 lakh crore is expected to achieve this goal," he was quoted as saying in the release.

Reduce carbon emissions

The minister said that last year the investment for 13.5 gigawatts was Rs 74,250 crore. Further noting that the main objective is to reduce carbon emissions, he said the demand in the power sector is high and all sorts of measures are being taken to increase production capacities. The minister said there is a need to prepare now in order to maintain the balance of supply and demand in the next 20-25 years.