IISc, CIL join to commercialise biomass power generation

New Delhi, Sep 5 (UNI) Indian Institute of Science (IISc), with a view to commercialise bio-mass gasification technology, has tied up with Pune-based Cummins India Ltd (CIL), manufacturer of diesel and gas engines for power generation.

Under the agreement signed today, IISc and CIL will continue their two-year old collaboration in continuing integrated development and release of power generation systems based on Open Down Draft biomass gasification systems developed by ABETS, IISc.

Also, CIL will manufacture pre-integrated generator sets which will then be used in projects developed internally or through licensees approved by IISc for manufacture of gasification systems.

''Cummins is committed in developing power generation technologies based on lower cost and sustainable fuels. This partnership provides us a significant life cycle cost advantage over hydrocarbon fuels and also enables us to develop sustainable energy systems. This system can provide power up to 1.5 MWe which makes it a very attractive option for industry as well,'' CIL Vice President Power Generation Business Rampraveen Swaminathan said.

The technology package developed by IISc generates gas from a range of biomass that comprises of forest residue, agricultural residue in briquetted form, bagasse, etc, IISc Professor P J Paul highlighted.

While bio-mass gasification technologies have been available for the past three decades, the collaboration marks the first large scale commercialisation of the technology with unique products which have been designed for optimised operations and uptime.

The Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources has estimated that more than 1700 MW of electricity can be potential for producer gas as fuel from biomass which can help power the 1.25 lakh unelectrified.

There are over 24 sites with installed power plants where the feasibility of the technology and improvements have been demonstrated.

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