The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) and Shell India announced on Wednesday the launch of the Shell IITM Centre for Energy Research (SICER). This partnership aims to promote the commercialization of technologies in the energy sector, support research and development, and foster innovation over the next five years.

Ajay Mehta, VP of engineering technology at Shell, highlighted the significance of this collaboration, noting its potential to combine Shell's resources and knowledge with IIT Madras' expertise, R&D facilities, and innovation ecosystem to address the global energy transition challenge.

The inauguration ceremony took place at the Shell Technology Centre in Bengaluru. Key outcomes of the partnership include:

-Research Collaborations: Focus on the energy transition space.

-Startup Incubation: Support for energy startups.

- Shell Chair Professorship: Facilitate knowledge exchange between Shell and IIT Madras.

Satyanarayanan Seshadri was appointed as the first Shell chair professor at IIT Madras. He is the head of the Energy Consortium at IIT Madras and a faculty member in the Department of Applied Mechanics and Biomedical Engineering.

"Our mission is to unlock the full potential of our partnership by leveraging our shared interests in areas such as R&D and startup incubation while also actively seeking out new opportunities for collaboration," Seshadri said.