The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has invited project proposals for research, development and demonstration (RD&D) in areas of new and renewable energy from R&D organisations/institutions, universities and industries.

The ministry has identified certain priority areas for R&D in solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, waste to energy, wind energy, hydrogen and fuel cell, and energy storage.

For solar photovoltaic, the ministry has listed three R&D priorities –

• Indigenous PV cell technology with globally competitive cost and performance
• Cutting edge manufacturing techniques for indigenous cell and module manufacturing
• Emerging PV technologies including Copper Zinc Tin Sulphide (CZTS), Multi junction solar cells, Organic solar cells & Perovskites

The Ministry has also listed three R&D priorities for energy storage –

• Batteries for Grid storage at economic cost and improved cycle life
• Standardization of controls and interfaces to allow flexible operation
• Simulation and modelling for evaluation of storage requirement for different applications including grid support, ancillary services, e-mobility and peak shifting.

In case of solar thermal, the priority is the indigenization of solar reflector material with high solar reflectivity, good outdoor durability under the harsh Indian environmental conditions along with robust and good mechanical resistance.

The objective of RD&D program under the MNRE is to encourage research, technology development and demonstration of a wide range of activities in fundamental research, advance materials and devices, systems technology development, performance and reliability, and manufacturing and deployment.

Recently, The Assam Energy Development Agency (AEDA) has invited proposals from independent institutions and organizations to set up a research and development (R&D) facility in the state. The facility will be in the field of renewable energy and will be supported by the Science and Technology Department of the Government of Assam.

India has also signed MoU with many countries, such as France and Peru, to work towards scientific and technical cooperation in new and renewable energy and establish a cooperative institutional relationship to promote technical bilateral cooperation on renewable energy issues.