Kohima (Nagaland) [India], May 13 (HBTV): Nagaland University PhD scholar Dipankar Hazarika has received support from the Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi for his groundbreaking research on battery technology.
‘This innovation could play a critical role in enabling flexible, wearable, and sustainable electronic devices and support India's goal for clean and safe energy storage technologies,’ stated a release from the Public Relations Office of Nagaland University.
Working under the supervision of Dr Nurul Alam Choudhury, Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Nagaland University, Hazarika has been selected for the prestigious 'Energy Innovation Fellowship Grant' to accelerate community innovations in battery energy storage in India.
‘Such indigenous innovative solutions that directly empower local communities in battery and energy technologies are vital for India to achieve its commitment to net-zero emissions by 2070,’ the release added.
Batteries, it noted, hold significant potential to transform energy access and resilience at the community level, offering scalable solutions for rural development, energy equity, and livelihood enhancement.
The release highlighted that Hazarika’s research has already achieved laboratory-scale validation, and an Indian patent has been filed to protect the innovation. He has developed a lab-scale prototype that has demonstrated excellent physicochemical and electrochemical performance, including high-rate capability, high areal capacitance, and a remarkable cycle life of 51,500 cycles at 2 mAcm⁻² in an all-solid-state supercapacitor.
His research was recently published in the Journal of Power Sources, a reputed Q1 journal with an impact factor of 8.1. The paper, titled An ionically cross-linked chitosan hydrogel membrane electrolyte for long-lived electrical double layer capacitors, was co-authored by Dipankar Hazarika, Duangailung Kamei, Nuphizo Shijoh, and Dr Nurul Alam Choudhury. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2024.236037
Expressing his gratitude to the Norwegian Embassy and Nagaland University, Hazarika, who is conducting his PhD research at the Laboratory for Polymer Materials and Renewable Energy, said: ‘This Fellowship will significantly strengthen my research by providing access to expert mentorship and opportunities for industry linkage. I believe it will help translate my research into a product that contributes to sustainable energy solutions. Going forward, we are going to conduct performance testing under real-world conditions and seek industry collaborations for scaling up the product and taking it to the market so that the country can benefit from this technology.’
Hazarika is one of only 13 innovators in India selected for the fellowship. The initiative is implemented in collaboration with Innovation Norway, NITI Aayog, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), and Atal Incubation Centres (AICs). The regional host for the North East is AIC-SMUTBI (Atal Incubation Centre – Sikkim Manipal University Technology Business Incubation), led by Prof Tej Chingtham, CEO of AIC-SMUTBI.
Congratulating the scholar on his achievement, Nagaland University Vice-Chancellor Prof Jagadish K Patnaik said: ‘I wholeheartedly congratulate Dipankar Hazarika on this prestigious achievement. This milestone reflects the growing research excellence at Nagaland University and inspires others to pursue impactful science.’
The fellowship also offers mentorship and entrepreneurial guidance from national experts. Dr Nikhil Tambe, CEO of The Energy Consortium at IIT Madras, is one of the key mentors guiding the fellows through technology readiness scaling, product translation, and real-world deployment.
Prof Tej Chingtham expressed gratitude to the Royal Norwegian Embassy, TERI, and NITI Aayog for partnering with AIC-SMUTBI to support clean energy innovations in the North East. ‘This collaboration empowers local start-ups working on clean energy solutions, and we look forward to continued cooperation in driving sustainable impact together,’ he said.
Out of over 100 proposals submitted from across five Indian regions—Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, and the North East—only 13 innovators were selected. Dipankar Hazarika is one of the two fellows selected from the North East to move forward in Phase I of the programme. His awarded project is titled Sustainable Biopolymer-based Hydrogel Electrolytes for Next-generation Solid-state Energy Storage.
Commenting on the significance of the research, Dr Nurul Alam Choudhury said: ‘Dipankar's achievement is a proud moment for our laboratory and the university. His research shows promise in solving real-world energy challenges with sustainable approaches. Biopolymers, such as chitosan (derived from crab and shrimp shells), gelatin, starch, and cellulose, are renewable, biodegradable, low-cost, and safe. They serve as ideal candidates to replace petroleum-derived synthetic materials in green energy applications.’
He added: ‘While electrolytes are just as critical as electrodes in energy storage devices, research on electrolytes has received comparatively less attention. This is mainly due to the complexity involved in designing stable, safe, and high-performing electrolyte materials, as well as their lower visibility in performance metrics compared to electrodes, which often get more recognition for improving energy density.’
(ANI)