Computational Tools

If India wants to retain the edge as one of the leading steel producers globally, the Government should provide incentives through policies for adoption of hydrogen.

Steel has been the backbone of the Indian economy since Independence. India produced 111 Million tonnes (Mt) of steel in 2018, becoming the second-largest steel producer in the world after China. According to the National Steel Policy, 2017, India’s annual steel production will reach 300 Mt by 2030.

Think tanks play a critical role in influencing policy discourses through evidence-based analysis and ideation. Since 2005, the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP) has been working with various governments to address long-term issues in key areas such as energy, climate, and health. CSTEP has developed a wide range of computational tools using inter-disciplinary methods to assist governments in examining and improving the efficacy of policies, especially in the energy sector.

This project explores a general case methodology for designing mini-grids through a pilot project implementation, to provide a sustainable, economically viable and reliable supply of power to remote areas that face zero-to-poor energy access.                                                                                                                                                                

Agriculture is both the cause and victim of water scarcity. Excessive use of water threatened the sustainability of livelihoods dependent on water and agriculture, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. 

India is blessed with abundant sunlight. Tapping even 0.1% of the incident solar energy in 2019-20 would have given us nearly 3.5 times the total energy generated from all sources in the year! Currently, India's solar-energy generation utilises only about 0.001% of the incident solar energy. Leveraging this immense potential is crucial to power the country via clean energy.

Atria Power Ltd.'s Multi Utility Solar Thermal (MUST) system, which is expected to be set up at Bagepalli, Chikkaballapur district, Karnataka, will be a unique poly-generation unit, producing electrical power and potable water. It will also support a cold storage unit.

IH2® is a waste-to-energy technology which converts a broad range of residues, including sorted municipal waste (up to 20% plastic content), agricultural residues to gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel-range hydrocarbon fuels. CSTEP performed the resource and impact assessment for large scale deployment IH2®. We estimated the agro-residues (for 10 states) and municipal solid waste (for 42 major cities) to examine the potential for adoption of IH2® technology.

A thermo-economic evaluation of a steam Rankine cycle and an ORC for similar operation conditions and power outputs suggests the promise of organic working fluids for high temperature ORCs. Key conclusions are:

1. The thermal efficiency of steam Rankine is only marginally better than that of the ORC.