IIT Madras Research Park partnership

The partnership of IIT Madras Research Park with University of St Andrews has already resulted in two successful joint seminars on the theme ‘Towards 100% Renewable Energy – Routes to Net Zero’ held in June 2021.

High Commissioner
British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis said technology, research and innovation are at the heart of the UK-India relationship.

The research partnership has great potential to develop world class energy systems and products as we build back better from the pandemic, said Alex Ellis.

Key aspects
Professor Ashok spoke about the key aspects of the collaboration between IIT Madras Research Park and University of St Andrews. Professor Ashok is the president of IIT Madras Research Park.

Green-house emissions is a serious problem for the whole world. India has to do its bit. Commercial complexes like IIT Madras Research Park (IITMRP), industries and High-Income Group urban housing needs to take a lead and commit to use only Green electricity and Green Hydrogen over the next decade.

Technologies are available and innovative work cannot just make it more than economically viable. IIT Madras Research Park is working to move close to 100% RE by wheeling in solar and wind-based electricity and creating chilled water and Battery Storage for energy, said Professor Ashok.

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At the same time, we work with other IITM faculty and researchers from other places on all other technologies, which would make India GREEN, he said.

‘This vision is what led us to initiate the collaboration between IIT Madras Research Park and
University of St Andrews leveraging our shared interests, strategically aligned goals, and delivery expertise in the application of low-carbon technologies.’

Through this partnership between IIT Madras Research Park and University of St Andrews, we expect to be able to jointly develop low-carbon solutions and accelerate India’s and world’s roadmap towards 100% Renewable Energy, said Professor Ashok.

Ø To jointly undertake research, share knowledge and understanding of low-carbon energy systems,

Ø To share research and delivery expertise in the application of low-carbon technologies as part of an overall energy system, and

Ø To work together to develop a model for low-carbon innovation ecosystems

Partnership
Professor John Irvine of University of St Andrews spoke about the partnership with IIT Madras Research Park.

‘Collaboration across borders is essential to tackle the challenges of climate change. Our work with IIT will help us to develop low-carbon solutions for energy storage, and support both our countries in meeting their ambitious targets to reduce carbon emissions.’

Key activities
The Key activities being taken up through this partnership between University of St Andrews and IIT Madras Research Park include sharing research and knowledge exchange activities and exchange of emerging technologies in key areas of technology expertise on both sides.

1. An increase in knowledge and understanding: Both countries are developing national policies towards net zero. Both of the institutions in this project are strong delivery agents at a local level for such net-zero policies.

This project would bring focus on a greater understanding of Regional and National policy and delivery.

2. Development of ready-to-implement technology solutions: The work undertaken in IIT Madras and UoSA are complementary in nature and offers significant potential for replication across geographies.

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The visit would enable participants from both sides to observe the work happening on either side and further strengthen the collaboration.

3. Building a platform for ongoing dialogue and cooperation: India and UK have taken up ambitious efforts in moving towards renewable energy-based systems.

A platform to connect the two countries in order to promote joint research and collaboration would further provide unique perspectives and an opportunity to find answers and solutions with broader application potential.

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A National Centre of Excellence, the ‘AMOLED Research Centre’ (ARC) is funded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Tata Sons.

Inauguration

S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, inaugurated the Centre on 21 December 2024 at the IIT Madras campus in the presence of Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras.

Development

S. Krishnan said he was pleased to inaugurate the AMOLED Research Centre at IIT-Madras.

It is one of the National Centre of Excellence (CoE) that is supported by the Government of India.

The Centre is working to develop a technique to manufacture AMOLED displays which can be used in digital devices including smartphones, smartwatches, tablets etc., he said.

It is envisioned that the new method, which is based on the ‘economies-of-speed’, will enable a modular micro-factory concept of manufacture of these devices, he said.

Krishnan further said the Centre is also working to develop the prototypes of OLED Lighting and OPV Power Source for Mobile Phones.

The inauguration of this Centre marks a pivotal step toward fostering innovation, driving self-reliance, and empowering India’s industrial growth, he said.

This Centre will not only catalyze research but also create solutions that resonate with India’s aspiration to lead the world in manufacturing and innovation, he said.

The AMOLED Research Centre will innovate novel techniques to develop AMOLED displays for the Indian and global market, he said.

Director of IIT Madras

Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said the AMOLED Research Centre is a unique Centre in India which will develop next generation AMOLED displays.

This Centre will support the nation’s initiative to develop a semiconductor industry in India, said IIT Madras director.

The global AMOLED display business is currently worth around USD 15 billion and is expected to grow, he said.

The AMOLED Research Centre will innovate novel techniques to develop AMOLED displays for the Indian and global market, he said.

The new technique promises to lower capex costs for display manufacture. The aim of this Research Centre is to create a technology that will enable the growth of modular display factories (micro-factories), say sources from IIT Madras.

It has capabilities of both current and next generation growth processes. The Centre currently focuses on small size displays such as those used in tablets, smartphones, and watches.

Need

Dr. Debdutta Ray, Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras spoke on the need for such research centers in India.

This is the only Centre in India that has the capability to develop smartphone-sized AMOLED displays, he said.

The Centre will work towards turnkey solutions, where we plan to develop/demonstrate/deploy micro-factories for smartphone displays, he said.

Dr Debadutta further said the centre is developing novel engineering techniques to utilize the concept of ‘economies-of-speed’ rather than the current model of ‘economies-of-scale’.

The goal is to keep the unit fabrication times the same or better where the ‘economies-of-speed’ allow smaller mother-glass size during production.

This will lead to a modular production system, said Prof Debadutta of IIT Madras.

Location

The ARC is located in the Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras. It consists of cleanrooms with ‘class 100’ and ‘class 1000’ ratings.

The major fabrication system is an OLED cluster where multilayer OLEDs can be grown with precise control of the growth parameters.

The system has state-of-the-art pixel patterning system that has been designed by a team at IIT Madras.

The Centre has facilities to characterize the devices where the optoelectronic properties are studied.

While the major effort of the Centre is to develop AMOLED displays, the Centre also works on white OLEDs for lighting and TV as well as on organic photovoltaic devices.

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