Bhubaneswar: A five-day Workshop on “Opportunities in Battery Materials and Recycling”, hosted by CSIR-IMMT Bhubaneswar, was inaugurated by P. K. Gupta, Joint Director, MSME Development Institute, Cuttack, here on Monday.
Coordinating the programme, Dr Umapathi Balaji, Principal Scientist, CSIR-IMMT, stated that the workshop has been structured in two phases. The first phase, being held during 8th and 9th December, is designed to provide MSMEs and entrepreneurs with a comprehensive understanding of emnerging battery chemistries, material development, and recycling technologies aligned with the principles of circular economy. The second phase, to be held during 15 to 17 December, is dedicated to skill development of postgraduate students, offering fundamental concepts along with hands-on training in battery materials and recycling processes. He also emphasised the growing business opportunities in next-generation batteries beyond lithium-ion, including aluminium-air systems, and highlighted multiple government schemes available to support MSMEs and start-ups in Odisha.
The programme is being jointly conducted under the IMMT-DSIR-CRTDH (Common Research and Technology Development Hub), CSIR Integrated SkillIitiative and the Innovative Technology Enabling Center (InTEC) at CSIR- IMMT.
Dr Y.S. Chaudary, Chief Scientist, and Coordinator CRTDH informed that the IMMT-DSIR-CRTDH at CSIR-IMMT plays a crucial role in supporting entrepreneurs through access to common research facilities for battery materials fabrication and recycling, along with scientific and technical mentoring for start-up ventures.
Dr T. Pavan Kumar, Principal Scientist and Manager, InTEC, CSIR-IMMT, stated that 18 start-up ventures have already been incubated and supported by InTEC with guidance on technology development and intellectual property protection. He also mentioned that CSIR IMMT has been recently identified as a Technology Transfer Facilitation Center (TTFC) to assisist MSMEs and startups to secure patents and enable commercialization.
Dr Mamata Mohapatra, Chief Scientist, highlighted the significant and ongoing research contributions of CSIR-IMMT in the battery and energy storage sector.
Senior-most Chief Scientist, Dr Laxmidhar Besra, thanked the participants for their enthusiastic participation and emphasised the importance of bringing students and MSMEs onto a common platform to promote meaningful exchange of ideas.
