ANRF selects 7 projects to drive innovation in India's EV ecosystem

New Delhi, May 5 (IANS) The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) on Monday announced the selection of seven e-nodes (high-impact projects) for support under its 'Mission for Advancement of High-impact Areas on Electric Vehicles' (MAHA-EV).

The seven e-Nodes are selected under the ANRF’s MAHA-EV mission are: Indian Institute of Technology Bombay; International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials Hyderabad; National Institute of Technology Surathkal; Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur; Indian Institute of Technology-BHU; CSIR- Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute, Pilani; and Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, respectively.

The current programme, launched under the umbrella of ANRF’s national mission, aims to address the critical challenges and drive innovation in India’s electric vehicle ecosystem.

According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, ANRF MAHA-EV call for proposal focused on three strategically defined Technological Verticals (TV) are Tropical EV Battery and Battery Cells (TV-I), Power Electronics, Machines and Drives (PEMD)- (TV-II) and EV Charging Infrastructure (TV-III).

Each selected electric mobility nodes (e-nodes) will execute the project in consortia mode involving academic institutions/R&D laboratories with the mandatory industry participation, in order to contribute to and establish R&D in the EV sector of the country.

The call noticed wide enthusiasm among all stakeholders and 227 proposals were received in consortia mode from academic institutions, R&D laboratories and the industrial section.

Among the selected e-Nodes, two will focus on Tropical EV batteries and Cell technologies (TV-I), three will work on power electronics machines and drives (TV-II) and the remaining two e-Nodes will focus on charging infrastructure, according to the ministry.

The MAHA-EV Mission leads to catalyse India's leadership in next-generation electric mobility solutions, aligned with the goals of sustainability, innovation, and self-reliance.

Meanwhile, ANRF is set to launch a “Small Business Deep Tech Innovation” programme inspired by global best practices, aimed at supporting startups and MSMEs in scaling technologies for real-world application.

In a bid to maximise national research infrastructure, ANRF will also roll out a “Cloud of Research and Innovation Infrastructure” to allow deep-tech startups and institutions to access underused equipment across the country.

The foundation’s ‘AI-for-Science’ initiative is another key highlight, focusing on using AI to model scientific equations in physics, chemistry, and biology — a leap expected to drastically shorten the time from theory to practice in core scientific domains.

--IANS

na/