The Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas firm Shell has opened a new technology hub in Bangalore. The 52 acre, custom built technology centre would house up to 1,500 experts, who would collaboratively work on worldwide energy projects from Bangalore, company said in a statement.
The Bangalore Shell Technology Centre is one of the three main technology hubs in Shell's global network of R&D centres, with the other two located in the Netherlands and the USA.
“Shell Technology Centre in Bangalore shall function as the Asia technology hub for the Shell group and will play a prominent role in Shell India's aspiration to custom-build a portfolio of new energy solutions specifically suited to India's energy challenges,” said Nitin Prasad, Chairman of Shell Companies in India.
The new centre houses a variety of technical experts, laboratories and technology demonstration units. In addition, the Bangalore centre is helping efforts such as using IH2 (waste to fuel) technology to turn forestry, agricultural and municipal waste into transportation fuels.
“Shell is developing a waste to fuel technology called IH2 at the Technology Centre in Bengaluru that takes only a few minutes to achieve what nature requires a million years to do. This IH2 technology can be one of the game changers that can make my country a net exporter of energy,” said Union Petroleum and Natural Gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan while formally inaugurating the centre.
“We continue to invest in people, projects and facilities, such as this high-tech hub Successful innovation, however, is more than just making balanced investments. Collaboration across different disciplines and with other sectors externally is a key enabler of successful innovation. And collaboration is essential to meet our biggest challenge: timely development and deployment of the best and affordable energy solutions, for today and for the future as the world transitions to a low carbon energy system. Our new Bangalore technology hub brings together the right people in a city that is synonymous with innovation,” said Harry Brekelmans, Shell's Projects & Technology Director.
According to company specialists at Shell Technology Centre Bangalore work closely with experts from external industrial partners, universities and institutes. These collaborations help to ensure a healthy influx of new ideas and speed up the deployment of new technology in our operations. Examples include chemistry and catalysis research with the Indian Institutes of Technology and collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the area of advanced computing.
“Shell sees India as a heartland-of-talent, proficient at generating best-in-class ideas, insights and business models and thus our centre's establishment is quite complementary to the government's focus on innovation and their keenness to build world-class technological skills in India for India. The centre is slated to play a prominent role in Shell India's aspiration to custom-build a portfolio of new energy solutions specifically suited to India's energy challenges,” said Prasad.
The IH2 – waste to fuel – technology that we are currently piloting here in Bangalore, among other automotive solutions in fuels and lubricants, is an example of that vision coming to life. As this centre becomes fully functional and scales up, we hope to work on several more pioneering technologies that will contribute to India's and the region's sustainable energy future,” he added.
The new STCB centre brings together R&D staff who previously worked at separate locations in Bangalore. Shell is of the view that by housing all R&D staff in one centre, the technology hub will create new opportunities for multidisciplinary collaboration, and drive relevant and affordable innovations for India and the world.
