Saint-Gobain India inks MoU with IIT Madras Research Park to partner on technologies and approaches towards 100% renewable energies

Chennai, February 10, 2022: Saint-Gobain India and IIT Madras Research Park have signed an MoU today to develop a 100% Renewable Energy (RE) – Research Park. As part of the MoU, Saint-Gobain India will be supporting IIT Madras Research Park with a funding of Rs 1 crore (€110,000) over the next 3 years. Through this collaboration, the aim is to boost the transformation towards a low carbon future and to aid India in achieving 100% renewable energy.

The objective of the partnership is to focus on addressing the energy challenges and promote maximum use of alternate energy sources. With a strong focus to develop sustainable models and ensure energy efficiency, IIT Madras Research Park intends to create a robust energy storage mechanism within the campus that will allow it to operate primarily on energy generated from renewable sources. On successful demonstration, the approach could help demonstrate the technology readiness and commercial viability of moving towards 100% RE in commercial complexes around the country and the world.  

Mr. P. Padmakumar, Executive Director – Human Resources & Head-CSR, Saint-Gobain India, said, “We are happy to associate with IIT Madras Research Park in an endeavor to support the institute’s purpose of ensuring 100% use of renewable energy sources. Through this partnership, the funding of Rs 1 crore (€110,000) by Saint-Gobain India will be used for research and development purposes as well as the pilot demonstration of the model. The model will be developed within the span of the 3 years within the institute. Together, we will collaborate in areas of research & application on renewable energy storage, advanced technology, innovation, and knowledge for sustainable changes. We are looking forward to working on similar models in an effort to take the lead to help India achieve the target of 100% renewable energy.”

Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala, President, IIT Madras Research Park (IITMRP) and IIT Madras Incubation Cell (IITMIC) said, “We are committed to drive this transition towards Net-Zero Energy in India and aim to showcase the IIT Madras Research Park campus as a model for other commercial building complexes in the country to adopt as they shift towards renewable energy-based systems. Our collaboration with Saint-Gobain Research India will help further our understanding of sustainable and energy-efficient building materials, and its effective integration in the built environment.”

IIT Madras Research Park and Saint-Gobain India have set a roadmap to not only promote sustainable growth but also increase energy efficiency by developing energy storage mechanisms through the use of renewable energy sources.