Researchers from IISc, Bengaluru and IBM Research-India have developed a machine learning-based technique to manage the demand and supply of power in a network of microgrids while maximising profit. Since such local grids can run on renewable sources of energy instead of relying on fossil fuels, they also reduce carbon emissions and are sustainable.

A team of researchers from Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France and Technische Universität München, Germany has provided a material design strategy for polycrystalline piezoelectrics that could achieve electrostrain values larger than 1%. The breakthrough could result in cheaper and efficient piezoelectric actuators.

Scientist from Indian Institute of Technology (India School of Mines), Dhanbad, Jharkhand are studying the potential environmental risks and hazards of coal ash, by studying the composition of the by product.

Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai have observed a new phenomenon in a semiconductor quantum dot-- particles of nanometre (a billionth of a meter) size which are also called artificial atoms) made of Cu₂ZnSnS₄  (CZTS). By shining Ultra Violet (UV) light, on the quantum dots immersed in an electrolyte, they noticed an increase in its capacitance. The effect could be engineered to serve as photocapacitors- capacitors that are charged using light.

Power cuts in many parts of the country are so commonplace that we have learnt to accept and adapt to the erratic supply, no matter how frustrating. With summer rearing its fiery head, the threat of sitting in sweltering heat without fans or air-conditioners is a nightmare. A recent UN report found that 10% of people from developing countries have no access to electricity!

While the country struggles with various problems related to waste management, scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, have come up with a novel solution to turn waste to wealth. The researchers develop a method to generate energy from landfill leachate and microbial fuel cells. 

Scientists from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, find a way to convert undesirable heat energy from electronic devices to electricity and reconverting this into electricity using the concept of thermoelectric effect - a physical phenomenon where a difference in the temperature between two contacts leads to a difference in the voltage, and hence flow of electricity.

The push for renewable energy has been greater than ever in the recent past, thanks to the realisation of the fact that fossil fuels and other forms of energy wreak havoc on the environment. India, like many other countries, has ambitious goals for producing electricity using renewable sources for 2022. In our rush to chase this goal, how are our policies crafted? Are they a win-win situation for the producers and the customers? Or are they making renewable energy all the more expensive, thus defeating the purpose of the switch? A new study now examines how renewable energy policies are structured and recommends some changes to make them effective and help us reach our 2022 goals.