India, USA open solar research center

Launch SERIIUS to foster collaboration.

India and the United States have opened SERIIUS or the Solar Energy Research Institute in Mumbai to encourage collaboration between academia and industry of both countries.

India’s Department of Science and Technology and the US Department of Energy have each committed US$25 million over a period of five years to operate SERIIUS while 30 Indian and U.S. companies will contribute another US$25 million.

Among the institute’s priority projects is developing an innovative, low-cost and effective solution for energy needs. The institute will focus its work on three areas: sustainable photovoltaics; the establishment of multi-scale concentrated solar power systems and solar energy integration.

SERIIUS is being described as a programme without borders that may lead to a paradigm shift in solar energy technology. The lead institutions at SERIIUS will be Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the USA.

Industry and academic partners include General Electric, Hindustan Petroleum, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University and IIT Madras.