India’s capability and competence in Energy sector R&D
Kirti Joshi, Avinash Kshitij, Bikramjit Sinha,
Vipan Kumar and Kasturi Mandal
Energy requirement of Indian economy is enormous and growing fast. Per capita consumption however, is very low and is expected to grow both because of rising population and raised standards of living. Growth of industry implied growing requirement of energy much of what comes from petroleum and products and electricity. Coal, oil, and natural gas are the three primary commercial energy sources. A huge part of this demand for energy is met through imports of direct energy resources. Vulnerability of the country to global supply shocks is increasing. Other than the traditional or conventional sources, the non-conventional renewable and new energy sources, namely solar, bio-energy, gas hydrates, hydrogen, wind and nuclear energy offer viable potential options to address the energy security concerns of a country. Added to the country’s increasing dependence on energy imports are the conditionalities and imperatives of climate related direct and indirect instruments that has made it near obligatory for us to have sufficient energy resources, additional and secure capacity and the capability to harness.
The recent energy policy, and before that the Prime Minister’s statement, has laid out the broad policy framework on energy. Given such a framework and global vicissitudes, this section explores the country’s capability to identify, cultivate, develop and harness novel energy resources based on novel applications of S&T.
a) Coal
Fig 1: Production of Coal and Lignite in India
Source: CSO Energy Statistics 2007
Coal dominates the energy mix in India, contributing to 55% of the total primary energy production. In terms of peta joules, coal and lignite were the major sources of energy, accounting for about 49.8% of the total production from all the primary sources of conventional energy during 2006-07.
Fig 2: Consumption of Raw Coal by different industries in India
Source: CSO Energy Statistics 2007
The consumption of raw coal by industry has increased in the period 1970-71 to 2006-07. Till the mid 70’s railways were the major consumer of coal followed by steel, electricity generation and cement industries. Gradually railways upgraded their technology and reduced their share of direct consumption. Today electricity generation is the biggest consumer followed by steel. This figure foretells the ever-increasing demand for electricity. As per ministry of commerce and industry the wholesale prices of coal, coke and lignite in India are also on an increasing trend. Keeping the wholesale price indices for the year 1993-94 as 100, the prices have risen to 239, 364 and 184 for coking coal, coke and lignite respectively.
Fig 3: Consumption of Domestic-petroleum products in India
Source: CSO Energy Statistics 2007
Fig 4: Consumption of Domestic-petroleum products in India
Source: CSO Energy Statistics 2007
b) Crude oil
India’s crude oil reserves tend to be light and sweet, with specific gravity varying from 38° API in the offshore Mumbai (Bombay) High field to 32° API at other onshore basins. Much of India’s crude oil reserves are located off the western coast (Mumbai High) and in the northeast of the country, although substantial undeveloped reserves are located in the offshore Bay of Bengal and in Rajasthan state.
Of the total world production of 3,914 million tonnes of crude oil in 2006, India’s share is about 1.0% whereas in consumption, its share is 3.1% of the total world consumption of 3,889.8 million tonnes. Out of the total domestic production of 135.3 million tonnes of all types of petroleum products in 2006-07, high speed diesel oil accounted for the maximum share (39.5%) followed by naphtha (12.3%), fuel oil (11.6%), motor gasoline (9.3%) and kerosene (6.3%).
High speed diesel oil accounted for 32.9% of total consumption of all types of petroleum products in 2006-07. This was followed by naphtha (9.8%), fuel oil (9.5%), refinery fuel (8.4%) and liquefied petroleum gas (8.3%). The wholesale price indices of petroleum products are also on the rise. Keeping the year 1993-94 equal to 100, the maximum rise was seen in light diesel oil followed by high-speed diesel oil and furnace oil. Transport sector accounts for the lion’s share (50.4%) of the total consumption of high-speed diesel oil in India.
c) Natural gas
Natural gas has emerged as the most preferred fuel due to its inherent environmentally benign character. Production of natural gas, which was almost negligible at the time of independence, is at present at the level of around 87 million metric standard cubic meters per day (MMSCMD). The main producers of natural gas are Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC), Oil India Limited (OIL) and JVs of Tapti, Panna-Mukta and Ravva. Under the Production Sharing Contracts, private parties from some of the fields are also producing gas. Government have also offered blocks under New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) to private and public sector companies with the right to market gas at market determined prices.
Fig 5: Production and consumption of natural gas in India
Source: CSO Energy Statistics 2007
Fig 6: Industry-wise Off-take of Natural Gas for non-energy purposes in India
Source: CSO Energy Statistics 2007
In case of production and consumption of natural gas, India’s share is to the tune of 1.1% and 1.4% respectively. Out of the total production of around 87 MMSCMD, after internal consumption, extraction of LPG and unavoidable flaring, around 74 MMSCMD is available for sale to various consumers. Production of natural gas increased from 1,445 million cubic metres in 1970-71 to 31,747 million cubic metres in 2006-07. Of the total quantity of natural gas off-take in India in 2006-07, the largest share was by power generation (38.1%), followed by fertilizer industry (27.1%).
Fig 7: Grid-connected Renewable Power (State wise details of schemes/programmes being implemented and cumulative achievements)
Source: CSO Energy Statistics 2007
d) Renewable resources
India is blessed with an abundance of sunlight, water and biomass. There have been vigorous efforts in exploiting them as energy sources as these resources will not only provide sustainable alternative to fossil fuels but also result in mitigating global warming. Renewable energy growth in India has been significant. The various non-conventional energy resources are solar, biomass, wind and water.
The total installed capacity for grid connected renewable power is more than 10 thousand Megawatts as on March 2007. Tamil Nadu is the leading state with 3,802 MW capacity followed by the state of Maharashtra with 1,774 MW capacity and Karnataka with 1,493 MW capacity. Contribution of Wind power is maximum at 70% to the total installed capacity followed by small Hydropower (19%) and Biomass power (11%).
e) Electricity
Total installed capacity (utilities only) for electricity generation, has increased from 14,709 MW in 1970-71 to 1,32,329 MW in 2006-07. Among the utilities, the largest share was on account of ‘Thermal’ electricity followed by ‘Hydro’ and ‘Nuclear’. Average generation of electricity per Kilowatt of the installed capacity in India is found to be the highest for Thermal (5,711 KWH) followed by Nuclear (4,771 KWH) and Hydro (3,271KWH).
Fig 8: Consumption of electricity (from utilities) by sectors in India
Source: CSO Energy Statistics 2007
Fig 9: Installed Generating Capacity of Electricity in Utilities and Non-utilities in India
Source: CSO Energy Statistics 2007
Fig 10: Foreign Trade in Coal, Crude Oil and Petroleum Products in India
Source: CSO Energy Statistics 2007
Of the total electricity consumed in 2006-07, industry sector accounted for the largest share followed by domestic, agriculture and commercial sector. However, electricity consumption in domestic sector and agriculture sector has increased at a much faster pace compared to other sectors during 1970-71 to 2006-07. It is a cause of concern that transmission losses have increased from about 17% in 1970-71 to about 30% in 2006-07.
Overall
Total production of four primary sources of conventional energy namely coal and lignite, crude petroleum, natural gas and electricity (hydro and nuclear), shows an increase during last thirty years. Production of natural gas increased from 1,445 million cubic metres in 1970-71 to 31,747 million cubic metres in 2006-07. Total production of crude petroleum and coal & lignite has increased about 5 and 6 times respectively during the same period. Production of electricity has, however, gone up by about 4.7 times during 1970-71 to 2006-07, implying a smaller growth rate compared to others. The wholesale price indices of coal, LPG and electricity have increased dramatically in the last decade. The maximum rise was seen in LPG (334.8) followed by electricity (271.7) and coking coal (239).
If we look at the pattern of consumption of these sources of energy, it is seen that there is a huge gap in production and consumption of crude petrol as well as in electricity generated from hydro and nuclear sources.
Fig 11: Electricity Generated, Distributed, Sold and Lost in India
Source: CSO Energy Statistics 2007
Fig 12: Source wise Consumption of Conventional Energy in India
Source: CSO Energy Statistics 2007
The combination of rising oil consumption and fairly stable production levels leaves India increasingly dependent on imports to meet consumption needs. In 2006, the country produced an average of 846,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) of total oil liquids, of which 77 percent, or 648,000 bbl/d, was crude oil. During 2006, India consumed an estimated 2.63 million bbl/d of oil. As per EIA estimates, India registered an oil demand growth of 100,000 bbl/d during 2006. This huge shortage of energy sources has led India to import energy to satisfy its demands. India has become a net importer of coal and crude oil. It’s last three decades data shows that the net import of crude oil is increasing at a very fast pace as compared to import of coal. However, for petroleum products, India has become a net exporter since 2001-02.
India ranks fifth in terms of primary energy consumption (16.205 x 1015 Btu) while the net electricity generation is only 661.64 billion kWh. The demand exceeds the supply. Though India currently has a capacity of 137.578 million kWh of total electricity and 3.958 million kW of renewable energy but still the demand is way ahead to be satisfied by domestic conventional energy production.
Petroleum (thousand barrels/day) |
664.66 |
2438 |
Natural gas (cubic feet) |
1.05trillion |
1269 trillion |
Coal (million short tons) |
473.17 |
507.315 |
Hydroelectric power(billion kWh) |
99 |
99 |
Renewable electric power (geothermal, solar, wind, wood & waste electric power) (billion kWh) |
7.68 |
7.68 |
Source: IEA 2005
With increasing demand of energy, India continues to face serious energy shortages. This has led to increased reliance on imports to meet the energy demand. India's crude oil import bill has jumped over 40 per cent to $68 billion in 2007-08 on relentless rise in international prices. The nation imported 121.672 million tons of crude oil for $67.988 billion in 2007-08 as opposed to 111.502 million tons imported for $48.389 billion previous year, according to the data released by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. This imposes a heavy burden on our fast growing economy and raises serious concerns on our energy security.
In his speech on climate change PM Manmohan Singh has reiterated “the requirement of a new paradigm of energy security to address our developmental needs focusing on issues like a less-energy intensive path of development, increasing use of non-conventional and renewable energy sources, also aimed at reducing carbon emissions, and improving efficiency in production and consumption. Such a strategy would have to be based on coordinated development and judicious use of domestic and global resources. This will require exploring new technological options, new financing means, identifying new sources and building new bridges with new partners. We need to develop all our energy resources keeping in mind environmental concerns.”
| Integrated Energy Policy 2008
On 26 Dec 2008, Government of India approved the “Integrated Energy Policy” which envisions a road map for sustainable growth with energy security over a reasonable period of time. This was conceived to ensure better coordination among different energy sectors set up by different ministries as earlier each energy sector had a different policy. The policy prepared by Planning Commission of India seeks to make energy markets more competitive, have market-determined energy pricing and resource allocation, transparent and targeted subsidy disbursal and improved efficiency, optimal exploitation of domestic energy resources and exploring and acquiring energy assets abroad to attain energy security for the country. |
So, how can India become self reliant in energy? Increasing the supply of energy is one way of dealing with energy shortage in our country. A second way is to improve energy efficiency or reduce energy requirement. The challenge therefore before the nation is to focus R&D on technologies that seek to achieve progressively higher levels of efficiency covering all the different stages and forms of energy conversion, as well as those that seek to improve the efficiency at the end-use stage. As a result, R&D in the energy sector is quite critical for India’s energy prospects. Partners in the development of country’s capacity and capability would be the public sector R&D and the university/IIT systems, the public sector and the private sector, as well as the non-profit social development agencies.
This current discussion would remain limited, however, to a mapping of the country’s current competence in new energy research. We attempt to map India’s capability and competence in energy research by analyzing the research outputs, for example, number of publications in research institutes and universities; patents and innovation index in listed companies dealing in energy sector. All the major areas of energy research i.e. coal, petroleum, solar, water, bio-energy, gas hydrates, hydrogen, battery technology and fuel cells are taken into account. We identify current capacity, institutions, respective capabilities, areas in need of improvement and we limit this study to non-nuclear.
Our data is drawn from Web of Science database which covers a total of 23,285 journals. Data for listed companies is drawn from Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), for the period 1995-2005. The data includes innovation in terms of sales turnover, total forex spending in terms of import of raw material, finished goods, capital goods and royalty/technical knowhow and forex earnings in terms of export of goods, services and others.
Role of Private Sector in Energy Sector R&D
Industry consumes more energy and produces perhaps more emissions than any other sector of the economy, as depicted earlier. The industries consuming energy are manufacturing, mining, and construction industries—and for a wide range of activities, such as process and assembly uses, space conditioning, and lighting. The rising cost of energy and the growing concern over climate change and global warming has led industries to carry out research and development (R&D) for new technologies aimed among other things, at reducing the environmental impact of energy production and consumption. Thrust is on achieving energy efficiency. Energy consumption per unit of gross output or per value add is an important indicator of the industry’s investment in reduction of energy consumption and this dimension has been examined in detail elsewhere. The other dimension of research effort by industry is on securing alternate modes of energy, smart systems including smart grid, cogeneration through utilization of byproducts etc., and in novel research.
In year 2005, there were around 188 listed Indian industries dealing in energy sector in areas of coal & lignite, electricity generation, crude oil, dry cell, storage battery, refinery & solar energy. Out of these 33 companies were involved in R&D while 38 were paying royalty or technical knowhow for securing/licensing knowledge on energy or R&D assets. The trend in Fig 13 shows that the number of listed companies has doubled in the last decade while the foreign exchange earnings from providing services are on a declining mode as compared to year 1995.
Fig 13: No. of companies involved in R&D in Energy Sector in India, based on listed companies
Source: Prowess Database
Fig 14: Innovation indicators of the companies doing R&D in Energy
Source: Prowess Database
This overall picture illustrates that companies preferred to buy technologies from outside rather than develop themselves.
Within the last ten years the expenditure on R&D has remained nearly constant. If we look at the power consumption of the industries with respect to their sales, in Figure 14, it shows that it has decreased considerably. During late 1990’s companies were more into paying royalty for technical know-how as compared to the millennium era, and this payment trend has presently become stable. Now if we compare the total forex earnings and expenditure with respect to sales, the ratio of forex expenditure to sales is very high. It also depicts that both are a rising trend but the rate of increase of earning is more than the forex expenditure since last year.
This shows that there has been considerable amount of technological innovation regarding enhancing energy efficiency in the industries which is reflected from the data showing lowered power consumption. It also seems that at present this innovation is largely dependent on the technical know-how from outside rather than from in-house R&D. But with the increase in rate of forex earning than expenditure, a time is not far when the earning will surpass expenditure and India will be the hub of R&D.
Public Sector R&D/S&T
As it is felt that R&D in the energy sector is critical to augment our energy resources, to promote energy efficiency, to secure India’s energy security and to deliver energy independence; the role of the public secdtor R&D/S&T in energy R&D is therefore important. An analysis of publication data has been undertaken to assess the performance of research under broad areas of energy as well as under major institutions. India’s overall growth in publication output and publication trends in areas of coal, petroleum, battery, fuel cell, gas hydrates, hydrogen, bio-energy, solar has been assessed on the basis of publications, citations, number of authors and collaboration data.
Table 1 :Collaboration pattern in India in energy research (1995-2007)
No. of papers |
Coal |
Battery |
Bio-Energy |
Fuel-Cell |
Gas-Hydrate |
Hydrogen |
Solar |
Petrol |
1-coauthored |
150 |
28 |
15 |
5 |
4 |
46 |
99 |
50 |
2-coauthored |
357 |
118 |
78 |
63 |
10 |
142 |
368 |
201 |
3-coauthored |
277 |
165 |
70 |
98 |
15 |
142 |
307 |
182 |
4-coauthored |
145 |
101 |
39 |
56 |
14 |
93 |
189 |
134 |
5-coauthored |
76 |
69 |
19 |
31 |
15 |
39 |
104 |
54 |
6+coauthored |
75 |
63 |
18 |
33 |
4 |
24 |
106 |
91 |
Source: Web of Science
Table 2: Top collaborator countries in energy research
Coal |
Petroleum |
Battery |
Bio- |
Fuel |
Gas |
Hydrogen |
Solar |
Wind |
|
USA |
99 |
51 |
56 |
23 |
29 |
8 |
71 |
245 |
33 |
Japan |
18 |
4 |
21 |
5 |
18 |
14 |
264 |
5 |
|
China |
13 |
2 |
7 |
6 |
183 |
||||
Germany |
27 |
30 |
9 |
5 |
26 |
27 |
72 |
8 |
|
France |
27 |
11 |
11 |
6 |
10 |
105 |
|||
South Korea |
8 |
14 |
39 |
28 |
2 |
11 |
56 |
||
England |
13 |
7 |
5 |
2 |
14 |
6 |
8 |
67 |
1 |
Italy |
4 |
6 |
1 |
13 |
25 |
65 |
|||
Canada |
37 |
2 |
18 |
1 |
3 |
17 |
19 |
4 |
|
Australia |
6 |
6 |
19 |
10 |
4 |
27 |
|||
Mexico |
8 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
53 |
||||
Turkey |
2 |
64 |
|||||||
Netherlands |
4 |
1 |
2 |
8 |
26 |
2 |
|||
Spain |
6 |
7 |
23 |
1 |
|||||
Thailand |
3 |
17 |
16 |
||||||
Brazil |
1 |
2 |
2 |
29 |
2 |
||||
Sweden |
5 |
2 |
6 |
1 |
4 |
14 |
|||
Switzerland |
1 |
1 |
9 |
2 |
19 |
||||
Taiwan |
19 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
6 |
Table 3: Top institutes involved in energy research on the basis of number of research papers emanating
|
Coal |
Petrol |
Solar |
Bio- |
Gas |
Hydrogen |
Battery |
Fuel |
311 |
198 |
43 |
33 |
42 |
49 |
127 |
88 |
|
IIT |
210 |
80 |
201 |
32 |
8 |
121 |
53 |
65 |
22 |
8 |
30 |
20 |
22 |
49 |
37 |
||
60 |
||||||||
6 |
48 |
5 |
||||||
21 |
7 |
2 |
22 |
6 |
||||
Indian Assoc Cultivat Sci |
36 |
|||||||
Birbal Sahni Inst Paleobot |
29 |
|||||||
23 |
||||||||
11 |
10 |
|||||||
Phys Res Lab |
19 |
|||||||
Indian Assoc Cultivat Sci |
17 |
|||||||
16 |
||||||||
13 |
2 |
|||||||
Tata Energy Res Inst |
8 |
4 |
3 |
|||||
Ctr Nucl Sci |
12 |
|||||||
Dr Reddys Labs Ltd |
10 |
|||||||
9 |
||||||||
CENT POWER RES INST |
8 |
|||||||
Indian Inst Geomagnetism |
8 |
|||||||
Cent Sheep & Wool Res Inst |
8 |
|||||||
8 |
||||||||
Naval Mat Res Lab |
8 |
|||||||
7 |
||||||||
7 |
||||||||
Ctr Mat Elect Technol |
7 |
|||||||
7 |
||||||||
NED Energy Ltd |
7 |
|||||||
Cent Avian Res Inst |
6 |
|||||||
Bannari Amman Inst Technol |
4 |
|||||||
Gas Author India Ltd |
3 |
|||||||
2 |
||||||||
Ctr Study Sci Technol & Policy |
2 |
|||||||
Directorate Gen Hydrocarbons |
2 |
|||||||
Inst Engn & Ocean Technol |
2 |
Table 4: Top Universities undertaking energy research on the basis of number of research papers
Coal |
Petroleum |
Battery |
Bio- |
Fuel |
Gas |
Hydrogen |
Solar |
Wind |
|
47 |
12 |
17 |
6 |
46 |
19 |
4 |
|||
10 |
10 |
16 |
5 |
5 |
8 |
23 |
8 |
||
23 |
13 |
2 |
10 |
9 |
13 |
9 |
1 |
||
5 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
50 |
|||||
0 |
2 |
41 |
3 |
1 |
10 |
||||
5 |
0 |
12 |
3 |
20 |
|||||
Delhi Univ (DU) |
1 |
6 |
6 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
14 |
||
JNU Univ |
34 |
||||||||
5 |
4 |
5 |
8 |
10 |
|||||
Jai Narain Vyas Univ |
1 |
1 |
30 |
||||||
6 |
9 |
4 |
1 |
7 |
4 |
||||
1 |
4 |
20 |
2 |
||||||
9 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
|||||
3 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
13 |
|||||
Jamia Millia Islamia |
4 |
5 |
1 |
14 |
|||||
7 |
6 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
||||
5 |
12 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
||||
3 |
2 |
10 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
||||
10 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
|||||
Maharshi Dayanand |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
||
3 |
3 |
3 |
11 |
||||||
2 |
4 |
4 |
9 |
1 |
|||||
6 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
|||
1 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
12 |
|||||
10 |
3 |
2 |
|||||||
Bangalore Univ (BU) |
1 |
1 |
8 |
1 |
3 |
||||
8 |
1 |
4 |
|||||||
Haryana Agr Univ |
3 |
7 |
|||||||
0 |
1 |
6 |
2 |
||||||
Bengal Eng & Sci |
7 |
1 |
|||||||
Guru Nanak Dev |
0 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
|||||
2 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
||||||
|
6 |
||||||||
Punjab Univ(PU) |
3 |
2 |
|||||||
1 |
4 |
Coal R&D capacity & capability
Coal is an abundant, and the most important fossil fuel in India. It accounts for 55% of the country's energy needs. The proven mineable reserves of coal in India are estimated at 96.0 billion tonnes. The geological reserves are estimated to be about 253 billion tonnes. The coal reserves are roughly 8.6% of the world total and the geological reserves are approximately 0.8% of total geological reserves in the world. There is a large difference between total coal production and consumption i.e. nearly about 35 million tons short. As our country is more dependent on thermal energy, this gap is leading us into a crisis. This sector therefore needs reforms urgently.
Fig 15: Publication, authors and their citation in coal research in India
Source: Web of Science; Keyword-based search
An overview of scientific articles published between 1995 and 2007 reveals that Indian share of published papers is increasing gradually with the exception of year 2006 which showed a reverse trend. However, the number of citations of these research papers shows a dismal picture. The rate of citations presently is abysmally low as compared to earlier years. Citation is not maturated for the paper published in 2005, as fig.15 shows downward slope in citation over the year. It is also seen that number of researchers involved in coal research is also increasing. India currently holds 18 patents on coal.
In India the scientific research on coal related areas is being conducted by both universities as well as institutes. Among institutes CSIR holds the maximum number of research papers in coal area followed by Indian Institutes of Technology, while in academic sector BHU holds the maximum number of research papers. Moreover CSIR and IIT are far ahead in paper publishing as compared to other institutes and universities. It can be perceived from Tables 3&4 that research institutes are more active in coal research as compared to academic institutions in India.
Majority of papers being published are coauthored followed by papers having three, single and four authors. The main collaborating countries in coal research output are USA, Canada and France. This shows good research linkages and co-development of knowledge in coal research.
Petroleum R&D capacity & capability
This sector has played a crucial role in economic development of our country since independence. The share of petroleum products in the total primary energy components has been increasing over the years. The crude oil production is estimated at around 664.66 thousand barrels/day while the petroleum consumption is 2,438 thousand barrels/day. India has to rely on imports heavily.
Fig 16: Publication, authors and their citation in Petroleum research in India
Source: Web of Science; Keyword-based search
The trend in number of research paper published in petroleum sector has remained stable by and large though an increase was seen during 2007. However a large increase was seen in the involvement of authors in publishing those papers. This shows that the scope of research is high in this area. The quality of papers published has declined as measured in terms of number of citations. CSIR holds the maximum number of papers publications followed by IITs and other oil companies. And, in university system, Jadavpur University has maximum number of research papers followed by BHU.
Here also number of 2-authored papers is higher than 3 or 4 authored papers. USA is the major foreign collaborator in petroleum research followed by Germany and Korea.
New and Renewable energy R&D capacity & capability
Solar Energy: India being located in a belt which receives abundant sunshine makes solar energy a viable source of energy generation. The country receives around 5,000 trillion kWh/year equivalent energy through solar radiation. The average solar radiation incident over India is about5.5 kWh/m2 per day. Just 1 % of India’s land area can meet India’s entire electricity requirement till 2030. Solar energy is starting to make its mark even though the installed PV remains low. The installed solar energy capacity in 2007 was 2.1 MV for solar PV and 2.15 mm2 for solar thermal water heating. The Indian government introduced a new policy for manufacturers of all semiconductors, storage devices, solar cells and photovoltaics,which has already seen investment flowing in.
Fig 17: Publication, authors and their citation in Solar Energy research in India
An increasing trend was seen till 2004 but after that a negative growth in number of research papers output in solar energy as well as in number of authors involved was seen. Even the citations are abysmally low. IITs hold maximum number of papers in solar energy research and are way ahead, followed by DRDO and CSIR. Among the universities, Shivaji University tops the list with 50 publications.
In solar energy research 2-authored papers had maximum occurrence followed by 3 and 4 authored papers. With regard to foreign collaboration Japan tops the list followed by USA and China.
Wind Energy: India is endowed with a large, viable and economically exploitable wind power potential. According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), India’s potential is conservatively estimated at 45,195 MW. The use of wind power in India ranks fourth by worldwide comparison with an installed capacity of 7,092 MW. India is third in the world in terms of new construction and this corresponds to an overall increase of over 40% in new wind power stations.
Fig 18: Publication, authors and their citation in Wind Energy research in India
There has hardly been any significant increase in publication output in wind energy research since last ten years and the citation number has also gone down from 48 to 8 showing that the papers are not good quality. The silver lining in wind energy research is that, researchers have started taking interest and are entering this area.
Among institutes, IITs top the list and are far ahead of other institutes and universities, in wind field. Multiple co-authored papers having three and two authors are seen to have maximum occurrence in wind research. USA is the major collaborator followed by Germany and Japan.
Bio-Energy: Bio-energy includes energy from bio-fuels as well as from biomass. Around the world demand for bio-fuels is growing rapidly. India aims to replace 5% to 20% of fossil based liquid petroleum fuel consumption with ethanol and bio-diesel. The period 2000 to 2006 has seen a growth rate of 6.37 % in bio-ethanol production.
Fig 19: Publication, authors and their citation in Bio-Energy research in India
The trend in number of research papers published during the last 10 years pertaining to Bio-Energy research has more or less remained stable, with the exception in 2007 where it showed significant increase. In the beginning of this millennium both number of papers and authors decreased but after that there has been a significant increase in number of researchers and papers till date. Citations of papers published in bio-energy sector, is a decreasing inclination.
Among institutions CSIR tops the list in publishing papers followed by the IITs and IISc while in academic sector Jadavpur University has published 10 research paper followed by BHU and Delhi University (DU). In Bio-energy India holds 8 patents.
In bio-energy maximum numbers of papers are 2-authored or 3-authored. Major foreign collaborators in bio-energy research are USA and Thailand.
Gas Hydrates: Gas hydrates are an important source of large quantity of methane gas and available within the Clathrate structures at a shallow sediment depth of about 6,000 ft. The total gas resource from the gas hydrates in the country is estimated to be around 1,894 TCM. The work being done world over is in research stage.
Fig 20: Publication, authors and their citation in Gas Hydrate research in India
In India scientific work on gas hydrates was initiated during 1997 and is still in its nascent stage. The trends in Figure 20 depict that since 2004 there has been a slight increase in Gas Hydrate research in India. Similarly the authors involved in publishing their research are on an increase that too significantly from 2005 onwards. This reflects the scope of further research in this area. Here too CSIR has taken over in maximum number of research paper output followed by IITs and oil companies. But till date none of the Indian universities have tried to venture inside gas hydrates.
Multiple co-authored papers having three and five authors are seen to have maximum occurrence in gas hydrates. Only three countries are collaborating as seen from publications output: namely USA, England and South Korea.
Hydrogen: Hydrogen is a new area. It has significant potential as a clean energy source for broad range of applications including power production and transportation.
Fig 21: Publication, authors and their citation in Hydrogen Energy research in India
In hydrogen energy area, the trend of number of published articles shows that it is increasing at a very slow pace with an exception in 2007 when it leaped. Similar is the case with the number of authors involved which also increased slightly during the years but showed a quantum jump in 2007. Though in recent years publication output and researchers involved in hydrogen field has increased but a sharp fall is seen in the paper citations especially after 2001 that too going below the initial years. IITs hold maximum numbers of research papers in Hydrogen energy and are quite well ahead of other institutes, followed by CSIR. In academic sector BHU heads the list (Table 4).
Majority of the papers are 2 or 3 authored. USA is the major foreign collaborator followed by Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan.
Battery: It is estimated that India could eliminate its oil dependence over the next 40-50 years by developing cheap batteries with high storage density. Therefore research on battery technology finds its significance as a storage option for solar PV based electrical energy.
Fig 22: Publication, authors and their citation in Battery research in India
The number of publications has increased double fold in battery research during the last 10 years while the number of authors involved has tripled thereby showing an increase in interest in this area. The papers citation shows a reverse trend with a sharp drop in year 2007 indicating that though newer researchers are entering this field their scientific output is still dismissal. In battery research India holds 11 patents.
Here also CSIR holds the maximum number of research papers (127) published in battery research in India followed by IITs which hold 53 papers. In academic system, Alagappa University holds maximum number of research papers followed by BHU.
Scientific papers having three authors are a majority as compared to papers with two or four authors. The main collaborating countries in battery research related publications are USA, South Korea, Japan, and Australia.
Fuel Cell: Till 1997, India stood nowhere in scientific output in fuel cell field. But gradually India entered this area, with number of publications increasing though at a very slow rate. The authors involved in fuel cell research publications have shown an incremental leap from 2005 to 2007. With reference to the trends of citations of published paper, it is seen that between 2004 and 2005 it reached a peak and since then is declining and is now nearing what it was way back in 1995. Major publisher of fuel cell papers is CSIR with 88 research papers and followed by the IITs and IISc. In universities and other academic sectors Jadavpur university having 9 papers, followed by Bangalore University, tops the list.
Fig 23: Publication, authors and their citation in Fuel-Cell research in India
Maximum number of papers are 3-authored paper followed by 2 authored papers (Table 1). Major foreign collaborator in fuel cell research is USA and then followed by South Korea with 28 papers.
Overall picture of public sector R&D
Fig 24: Total Papers published in Energy Research in India
Source: Web of Science
Fig 25: Papers published in Energy Research by top three contributors (1995-2007)
Source: Web of Science
Figure 24 shows that the publications output has increased gradually with an annual publication of more than 700 papers pertaining to energy research. The overall picture reveals that institutes are leading in publishing papers as compared to universities. Among the institutes involved in energy research, CSIR, IITs and IISc are the top most in Research & Development (Figure 25). CSIR has an impressive record in publications output, being way ahead in each area except solar, hydrogen and fuel cell in which IITs are ahead. USA is the major collaborating country followed by Japan, Germany and South Korea.
On examining the complete picture of Indian energy R&D scenario both by the private and the public sector it seems that R&D is progressing in all fields. In public sector the number of publications emanating from both university system and research based institutions is increasing at a fast rate depictive of advances in R&D. The field of coal research being the most preferred one by the institutes followed by solar and petroleum, while research on storage systems like hydrogen, battery and fuel cell all stand at par. But the citations received are appallingly very low indicating that the standard of research being pursued is either retrograde or not up to international standards. Therefore the criterion of energy research has to be relooked into and brought at par of ongoing international research.
Inferences
According to various projections, in near future, India’s demand of energy would rise so sharply, that it would be quite difficult for India to sustain itself in this competitive world. So, how can India become self reliant or achieve security in energy? For achieving this, India should aim at two goals namely
- Increase the supply of energy &
- Improve energy efficiency or reduce energy requirements.
As these goals can be achieved through research and development only, R&D in the energy sector is therefore quite critical for India’s energy prospects.
The broad concern of energy R&D should be:
- Develop technologies that seek to achieve progressively higher levels of efficiency covering all the different stages and forms of energy conversion, as well as those that seek to improve the efficiency at the end-use stage.
- To identify new and novel resources/methods of energy generation (render economic, known but uneconomic)
- Improve technology to tap known but uneconomic and novel energy resources
- Develop energy conversion systems with higher efficiency
- Develop standards for new energy sources etc.
Put together the country needs to develop critical capacities and capabilities in new energy research and this has to be achieved by a set of policies already enshrined in the framework enunciated by the Prime Minister and by the Energy Policy.
The main challenge facing India’s energy sector would be to increase its efficiency in an environmentally and socially acceptable manner. It needs to augment its domestic energy resources. It is a long term imperative that renewable resources are exploited optimally as India's sustained economic development is vitally dependent on its energy security and on the promotion of sustainable and environment friendly energy technologies. The underlying assumption therefore is that novel S&T capability and capacity would endow the country with required energy resources.
References:
- Energy Statistics 2007, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Central Statistical Organization. Website: http://mospi.nic.in/es07_main.htm
- Akshay Urja: Renewable Energy (2008) Vol 2, issue 2, September-October. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India. Website: http://mnes.nic.in/
- Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Website: http://petroleum.nic.in/
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