CSIOC-DSIR-CRTDH (CDC)

FACILITIES

Common Research & Technical Facilities for MSEs

CDC would be created in CSIR Madras Complex Chennai with the special focus on renewable energy. The CDC would concentrate on three main areas of Renewable energy/Electronics:

• Solar Photovoltaics (SPV)
• Off Grid Solar Products and Electronic Development Test Facilities
• Energy Conservation/Conversion Test Facilities

Solar Photovoltaics (SPV)

The main focus of this area is to work with MSEs/industries to provide the Research infrastructure base for testing of solar modules and ensuring that their performance confirms to international standards, lowering the cost of manufacturing of solar panels/modules through innovative ideas and work with MSEs towards improving the efficiency and reliability of PV components and sub-systems. CDC would help MSEs to meet these goals through advance testing facilities and through collaborative R&D as per the needs of MSEs.

Solar PV R&D would include equipment’s and facilities for

• Solar panel testing and characterization
• Performance and Reliability
• New manufacturing techniques for assembly of solar panels/modules

Off Grid Solar Products and Electronic Development Test Facilities

While grid-connected solar projects enjoy the limelight, a large market exists today for off-grid solar solutions in areas where electricity is either absent or scarce. Off-grid solar presents a cost-competitive solution to such power hungry areas which currently depend on expensive solutions, such as diesel gensets or batteries, to obtain power.

Off-grid solar products (those that work on solar energy), comprising solar lights, power packs, solar streets among others, provide excellent business opportunities to small – medium size industries today. Not surprisingly, most of the potential customers of off-grid products are not in the developed nations, and these off-grid solutions have an enormous and eager potential customer base in the developing nations like India.

The off-grid solar market has its set of challenges. The low levels of technological awareness in key electronic components and system design coupled with capital intensive testing and certification facility hinders their growth.

CDC plans to establish dedicated facilities for testing components used in off grid solar industries. As a whole, any regional MSEs can walk into the proposed hub with a innovative off grid idea and experts would work closely with the company to design, develop, fabricate, prototype and test the product to make it commercially ready and viable. CDC would also accompany a common 3D printing facility for product design and prototyping.

Energy conservation/conversion test facilities

With the welcome economic growth, usage of various industrial and household electrical/electronic equipment’s is on the rise in India and is resulting in substantial increase in the demand for energy. If energy supply capacities are expanded without promoting more efficient use of energy, the amount of capital invested will eclipse the economic growth it seeks to sustain. The simplest way-out of this development challenge is to use the energy more efficiently. “Energy conserved is energy produced” is the slogan used the government/GEN Cos over to raise public awareness on the importance of efficient use of energy.

Understanding the future potential of Energy Conservation (EC) market, many MSEs have started investing on EC building goods (Building Energy Monitoring Systems), EC appliances (AC Energy Monitors, House hold load monitoring systems), EC consumer electronics, smart meters, EC lighting, motor/pump efficiency controllers, power/energy management systems and efficient E-vehicles drives. CSIO CRDTH would facilitate testing of these new age energy conservation products to cater the need of local industries as per the GoI mandate. On a long run, CDC would also include the testing of energy conversion devices like solar inverters, UPS, charge controllers etc. for their real-time performance and efficiency.

Testing Facilities as a part of CDC

• PV Electronic Test Facility
• Large Area Solar Simulator
• Small Sized Environmental Chamber for Electronic Parts.
• Vibration Test Chamber
• Electronics test and design facility and related accessories
• Spectral flux Measurement System (along with software)
• Climatic Chamber
• 3D printer
• Engineering Design Centre with dedicated design software’s