‘Centre of Excellence in Bioenergy’ opens at Sri Venkateswara University
The facilities at the CoE include a BET surface area analyser, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), photobioreactor, Anoxomat III and a Milli-Q water purification system.
The Sri Venkateswara University (SVU) in Andhra Pradesh has established a ‘Centre of Excellence in Bioenergy Innovations’ with financial assistance from the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyaan (RUSA) Phase 2.0, strengthening its research infrastructure in emerging areas of bioenergy and sustainable technologies.
As per reports, the centre has been equipped with sophisticated scientific instruments worth Rs 1.20 crore under the RUSA initiative. The facilities include a BET surface area analyser, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), photobioreactor, Anoxomat III and a Milli-Q water purification system.
SVU Vice-Chancellor Tata Narasinga Rao inaugurated the centre at the university campus on Thursday. Speaking on the occasion, he said the facility would provide a major boost to advanced research in areas such as clean energy, biofuels, bioenergy, waste-to-energy, biomass valorisation and the circular bioeconomy.
Rao also noted that SVU is the only university in Andhra Pradesh to have a specialised BET surface area analyser facility. The equipment is used to study surface area, pore size and other physicochemical properties of nanoparticles, nanomaterials, biochar, catalysts and other advanced materials.
The new centre is expected to support interdisciplinary research and provide researchers with access to advanced instrumentation for developing innovative bioenergy and waste-to-value technologies.
A Nationwide Effort
India has developed a network of national Centres of Excellence (CoEs) and specialised R&D institutions focused on bioenergy and advanced biofuels. A key institution is the Sardar Swaran Singh National Institute of Bio-Energy (SSS-NIBE) in Kapurthala, Punjab.
In 2024, IIT Kanpur and the National Sugar Institute, Kanpur, signed an MoU to establish a Centre of Excellence for Biofuels at NSI. The DBT-TERI Centre of Excellence focuses on integrated production of advanced biofuels and value-added bio-commodities.
Other specialised centres include the DBT-IOC Centre for Advanced Bio-Energy Research, DBT Pan-IIT Centre for Bioenergy, DBT-ICGEB Centre and DBT-ICT Centre for Energy Biosciences. Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh government also plans to establish a Centre of Excellence on circular economy in Vijayawada, focusing on training, research and awareness programmes.
