Jadavpur University's proposal for Centre of Excellence in green hydrogen sector gets govt nod

Kolkata: A proposal by Jadavpur University (JU) to establish a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for research and development in green hydrogen has been approved by the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), an official said on Monday. The CoE will be set up in collaboration with Damodar Valley Corporation, Steel Authority of India Ltd and Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Ltd, he said.

The proposal is among only four approved by the ministry following a rigorous selection process for setting up such Centres of Excellence in the green hydrogen sector, the university spokesperson said. The centre aims to promote research and development in green hydrogen, and support the broader objectives of the National Green Hydrogen Mission.

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JU to set up green hydrogen CoE

It will be inaugurated on September 30 at the Technology Bhavan on the JU campus in the presence of the DVC chairman and the university's vice chancellor, he said. Vice Chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharya said under the CoE project, Jadavpur University will work on developing technologies to expand the use of green hydrogen in key industries such as power generation, steel making and fertiliser production, with a total budget of Rs 8.18 crore.

He said the project will be funded equally by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC). "Under the project, JU will act as the knowledge partner and mainly carry out research and technology development. SAIL and HURL will help test and apply the technologies at their respective industrial facilities," the VC said. "The project will explore more efficient ways of compressing hydrogen so that it can be stored and used for different purposes," Bhattacharya added.