Solar Energy becomes the answer to Emission Problems at IIT Bombay

Even when the Copenhagen Summit 2009 debated on how to save our planet from

the harmful effects of climate change, India stunned the world with its

ambitious Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). This mission is a

part of the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) with an ambitious

target of achieving 20,000 MW solar power by 2022. The project also assumes

importance in accordance to an analysis done by Greenpeace, which states that

JNNSM could ensure an annual reduction of 434 mn tonne of CO2 emissions every

year by 2050 based on the assumption that solar will replace fossil fuels.

IIT Bombay was specifically mentioned in the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar

Mission as a location for the National Centre for Photovoltaic Research &

Education. Thanks to this project IIT Bombay was offered a collaboration with

Applied Materials.

The Collaboration



Applied Materials announced that it would donate three process chambers to

IIT Bombay for depositing thin films on solar cells using physical vapor

deposition (PVD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technologies. The donation

of the new chambers will allow IITB-AMAT collaboration in the area of

photovoltaics, which will become very important in the context of Indias JNNSM.

It will support IIT Bs new initiative in photovoltaics technology, which is

also likely to receive a major grant from the government, informs Professor

Juzer Vasi.

Applied Materials will also work with IIT Bombays research teams to set up a

wet chemistry laboratory for developing new materials. The aim of the wet

chemistry laboratory will be to leverage the high level of expertise available

in the chemistry department at IIT Bombay to jointly develop such chemicals.

As a symbolic representation of its commitment to clean technology and a

sustainable future, Applied Materials will also donate a solar panel system to

IIT Bombay. The panels will be connected to energy-efficient LEDs that will

light the Universitys main avenue.

Enumerating on the collaboration, Dr Madhusudhan V Atre, president and MD,

Applied Materials India says, Considering the scenario after the launch of

JNNSM, there is a huge focus on driving down costs for solar technology, to make

it more accessible. The government is also giving due importance to

industry-academia collaboration to make this movement a success. And this

collaboration is one such step in the right direction. Applied Materials

donation will provide a boost to R&D activity at IIT Bombay, as it will help to

identify several new areas of co-operation between the two entities in the area

of photovoltaics.

In the End



Currently, India is the fourth largest emitter of CO2 in the world with

1,852.9 mn tonnes per annum, while emission rate of the US is 6,963.8 mn tonnes

of CO2 per annum. Preliminary calculations by Greenpeace show that on the basis

of the NAPCC alone, India is on the pathway to deviate its GHG emissions by

approximately 12-18%, with a further potential to deviate GHG emissions by

nearly 35% with more ambitious measures, and JNNSM is a step in the right

direction. Though JNNSM requires a lot of research into new techniques and

structures for solar cells, the collaboration between IIT Bombay and Applied

Materials is in sync with the national aim.

Shilpa Shanbhag



shilpas@cybermedia.co.in