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