India announces two MI-centric Funding Opportunities in Smart Grid and Offgrid Access at US $ 5 million each
Dr. Harshvardhan led Indian Delegation at 2ndMission Innovation Ministerial and 8thClean Energy Ministerial at Beijing
India announces mounting a National Mission on advanced ultra supercritical technologies for cleaner coal utilisation at a total cost of US $ 238 million and setting up of two Centres of Excellence on Clean Coal Technologies at US $5 million each. In its quest for cleaner fuels, a National Mission on methanol and di-methyl ether is being mounted. A new centre on solar photovoltaic, thermal storage and solar fuels research has been approved ~ US $ 5 million. Funding opportunities have been announced in the area of energy storage, clean coal, waste water treatment amounting to US $ 10 million. This announcement was made at the 2ndMission Innovation Ministerial and 8th Clean Energy Ministerial at Beijing, China.
India also announced two MI-centric Funding Opportunities in Smart Grid and Offgrid Access at US $ 5 million each. Joint virtual Clean Energy Centre with UK and Indian Government funding of UK £ 5 million each has been initiated. Under the Indo – USJoint Clean Energy Research (PACE – R) the new collaborative public – private programme on Smart Grids & Energy Storage has been approved. India has also embarked upon a joint programme on renewable energy with Norway
Energy Ministers from 23 Nations with 80% of Clean Energy Investments and 75% of GHG Emission met on June 6-8, 2017 at Beijing, China to focus on Advancing Clean Energy Cooperation and Implementing Paris Agreement Commitments
The Indian delegation was led by Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Science and Environment, Forests & Climate Change, Dr. Harshvardhan.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan also participated alongwith 4 other Ministers in a roundtable on “Accelerating innovation via public-private synergies, “Getting to the Future Faster: Accelerating Innovation in Clean Energy Technology through Public and Private Collaboration”, which considered the roles of the private and public sectors in the innovation ecosystem, synergies between the two, and successful models for feeding the innovation pipeline and accelerating outcomes.
The Minister held a successful bilateral meeting with US Secretary Rick Perry. Joint collaboration in clean energy was discussed to widen new areas of research cooperation in clean coal, carbon capture and accessible and affordable water. These areas will be in addition to strengthening ongoing partnerships under PACE-R. A new partnership in india-US clean energy was also discussed,
Dr. Harsh Vardhan also led bilateral meeting with Maros Sefcovic, Vice President for European Union, European Commission. Successful ongoing collaborations were discussed on water technology, research& innovation, clean biofuels solar energy etc) . New partnership in clean technologies such as smart grids, water and waste water treatment were also discussed.
Eighteen months ago on 30th November 2015, leaders of 20 countries came together to launch Mission Innovation (MI), a landmark 5-year commitment to accelerate the pace of innovation and make clean energy widely affordable and accessible worldwide. MI now comprises 22 economies and the European Commission, representing the European Union, and collectively accounts for more than 80 percent of the world’s total public financing of clean energy R&D.
Mission Innovation developed and launched 7 Innovation Challenges in November 2016. These Innovation Challenges focus on selected technical area where MI members believe increased international attention would make a significant impact. India is Co-leading three Challenges – Smart Grid, Off Grid Access and Sustainable Biofuels. Minister Harsh Vardhan released the India Action Plan for next 3 years
This week, energy ministers and other high-level delegates from 22 countries and the European Union convened at the Chinese National Convention Center in Beijing for the second Mission Innovation Ministerial (MI-2) from 6-8 June. Indian delegation was led by Dr. Harshvardhan.
Energy ministers and other high-level delegates from all MI member governments participated in a business meeting on June 7 to discuss plans, progress, country highlights, and preview a series of public announcements on selected areas of joint cooperation.
Ministers and delegates gave their encouragement to carrying out an MI Action Plan. This Plan highlights a number of priority areas for cooperative work, as identified by MI members who have opted-in, in joint research, business and investor engagement and information sharing.
India informed that two MI-India Workshops were organized on 22-23 May, 2017 on Innovation Challenge (IC#1) on Smart Grids and Innovation Challenge ( IC#2) Offgrid access to electricity at New Delhi., India which identified possible topics of co-operation with MI countries. India also launched MI-India funding opportunity of US $ 5 million each for achieving objectives envisaged in both these Innovation Challenges.
India announced its plan for hosting a MI Sustainable Biofuel Innovation Challenge Workshop in December, 2017 in New Delhi, India in collaboration with Biofuture platform.
The increased focus on Innovation by both public and private sectors is expected to give rise to new and advanced technologies, performance breakthroughs, and significant cost reductions. These, in turn, will create opportunities for new industries and jobs and expand markets for reliable and clean energy – for both production and demand. The lower costs will spur economic growth and accelerate market uptake, enabling the realization of the benefits of accessible, reliable and affordable clean energy worldwide.
