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There were more than 50 engineers who attended the event, including eight Members of IMechE.
The impact of technology advancement on global warming is a matter of great concern. All responsible organisations the world over are trying to develop strategies and methods to overcome this challenge. In today’s times of increase in urbanisation, the issue becomes more serious and needs to be addressed with optimised solutions. The India Process Division Chair, Dr. Milind Atrey, suggested to take-up this subject to make all aware of the concern and to address the challenges.
Mr. Sunil C. Panchbhai , Secretary Process Division, welcomed all guests for high tea. The panelists included Mr Rajneesh Khosla – Head of Mechanical Engineering Department, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Dr. Ramki Subramanian, Sr. Vice President and Head of Business Development - Reliance, Mr. Ajeet Oak, Primove Infrastructure Development Consultant Pvt. Ltd. and Mr Sheetal Kulkarni, Senior General Manager, R&D, Blue Star Ltd.
The panelist speakers were introduced by Mr. Hardik Vaidya, the moderator. Starting the session, he mentioned that 11May was also National Technology Day in India. Dr. Milind Atrey was congratulated for his new working position as Dean of R&D at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, (Mumbai). In his opening address, Dr. Atrey shared the message from Dr. Tim Fox regarding the relevance of the subject and for all technical personnel to take forward the initiatives on Green Technologies. He shared his best wishes and appealed to all stakeholders to focus collaborative and cohesive working towards the addressing the concerns of global warming and over consumption of natural resources.
The session started with Mr Rajneesh Khosla from Bureau of Indian Standards, who shared his brief presentation and informed about initiatives being taken by BIS, Government of India, in the field of energy and technology advancement. He shared the methodology, consensus based method of standards formation and to include all stakeholders as Labs, experts, manufacturers and consumer bodies. He shared present standards, focusing on Green Technology in various sectors such as construction, e-Mobility, HVAC etc.
Mr Kulkarni from Blue Star (Air Conditioning Biz) explained the challenge of energy efficient products leading to higher cost for customers. Another challenge he mentioned was the need of trained and skilled manpower for handling the flammable refrigerant in households while servicing appliances. This point was well noted by the audience who endorsed the need for skill development programs. Other methods to reduce heat load, as per Mr Kulkarni was to focus on green building concepts and designs during construction stage itself. This will also reduce air conditioning energy requirement. He opined that air-conditioning was now no more a luxury, but a means of efficiency enhancement and hygiene.
Dr. Ramki Subramanian from Reliance suggested the need for development of energy efficient new composites. Alternatives like recycle, reuse, extension of life can save overall resources and hence energy. He cited an example of a thermoplastic development that shall soon be ready to replace wood, having the same feel and touch. However, he also mentioned the concerns of market acceptance for this new technology. He stressed on not to make any compromises on safety, reliability and quality of the end product for the customer.
Mr Oak from Primove expressed the view of improving upon resources utilised in sanitation by avoiding chemicals. He shared the availability of natural resources present such as worms and insects, to eat up waste. His experience of setting up installations and their efficient working over the last few years was appreciated by the audience. He talked about scalability and making this solution more popular for large societies and big settlements. Managing the costs to make such innovations is a practical way for business development.
Mr Rajneesh expressed importance of maintaining natural resources at pure level, be it river water, solid waste, e-waste or even disposal of waste heat. He shared energy related standards in various fields such as aviation fuel, construction material, HVAC refrigerant and other standards being developed. He touched upon involvement and participation of young engineers in formation of new standards for BIS. During discussions, the examples of Norway and Netherlands came up, where bicycles are promoted for use with their free availability on dedicated cycling tracks. He also urged industry to act faster while developing new standards.
The question & answer session was full of enthusiastic participation from the audience. Few strong stakeholders can make an impact on young innovators and policy makers and it was emphasised by the government panelist to always support the national interests to the fullest. The Government was urged to review tax structures and to subsidize energy-efficient machinery and products, inorder to encourage their utilisation.
All the panelists satisfied the various queries to the fullest satisfaction of the audience by giving detailed and easily understandable explanations. All panelists were presented with mementos as appreciation for their contribution towards Green Technology. The event concluded with cocktails and networking dinner thereafter.