The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEF&CC) announced ambitious collaborative research and development programme to develop next generation, sustainable refrigerant technologies as alternatives to HFCs (Hydro Fluoro Carbons).
“The R&D initiative brings together Government, research institutes and civil society to develop long term technology solutions to mitigate the impact of currently used refrigerant gases on the ozone layer and climate. With this initiative, India reaffirms its commitment to working with all nations to safeguard the Earth’s natural ecosystem,” an official statement from the Ministry said.
Those involved in the initiative include Council of Scientific & Industrial Research and its allied Institutions, Department of Science and Technology, Centre for Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences as well as key industry players in the sector.
The research initiative of the Ministry will be led by the CSIR’s Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad. The MoEF&CC, along with the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) has also decided to create a corpus fund for this research programme, with Industry also committing to contribute to the effort.
“There is an urgent need for developing new technologies indigenously as alternatives available today are patented apart from being expensive. A research based programme to look for cost effective alternatives to the currently used regfrigerant gases is, therefore essential,” the statement added.