The value of IIT Madras’ holding is estimated at more than ₹140 crore at the expected valuation, as per market and investment banking officials.
| Photo Credit: B. VELANKANNI RAJ

Novel scheme by IIT Bombay researchers to control drones can enable complex formation flying using only camera data, without GPS or inter-drone communication.

 

As the world’s digital appetite grows, so does its energy bill. Data centres — the backbone of streaming, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and cloud services— already consume around 1–1.13% of global electricity and are projected to use far more in the coming years. Nearly 40% of this power goes into cooling the massive server farms, making energy-efficient alternatives critical.  

A new study from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, led by Professor Gurubalan Annadurai, Dr. Kashish Kumar and Moin Ali Syed, a former IIT Bombay student has unveiled a promising solution: Deep Seawater Cooling (DSWC). The research proposes a systematic framework for assessing the feasibility of using cold water from deep ocean layers to cool energy-intensive data centres — a method that could cut energy consumption by up to 79% and achieve payback in just eight months.  

“In deep seawater cooling systems, cold water from deep ocean layers is transported through long pipelines to land-based facilities,” explains Dr. Kumar, the study’s lead author. “Our framework enables systematic calculations of resource needs and payback periods, helping businesses evaluate viability before investing,” he added.   

How the system works  

Using the Sister Islands in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as a prototype location, the researchers analysed oceanographic data to locate deep, cold water ideal for cooling. They identified a depth of 2,770 meters, where seawater maintains a stable temperature of 18°C year-round, ideal for consistent performance.  

A pipeline of approximately 2.78 km would transport the water to land. To optimise efficiency, the team recommended High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipes for their strength, durability, and resistance to marine conditions like salinity, high pressure, and biofouling.  

The study also developed a segmented insulation strategy, tailoring the thickness of insulation for different pipeline sections based on surrounding temperatures, preventing heat gain and reducing costs.  

Efficiency, savings, and sustainability  

Testing the system on a hypothetical 100 MW data centre, the study found that DSWC could reduce annual energy use by 79% compared to traditional air-based chillers. The method would also cut carbon emissions by the same margin, making it an environmentally friendly alternative.  

Assuming an average electricity cost of $0.0851 per kWh and 24×7 operation, the estimated payback period is just eight months, even when accounting for maintenance and capital investments like pipelines, heat exchangers, and air ducting.  

However, the researchers caution that DSWC works best in coastal regions, specifically islands with easy access to deep, cold seawater. For inland locations or sites far from suitable ocean depths, installation costs could rise significantly.  

Beyond data centres  

While the study focuses on data centres, its methodology can be applied across sectors. “Potential beneficiaries include hospital complexes, industrial processing units, desalination plants, and residential or commercial buildings in tropical coastal cities,” Dr. Kumar said.  

The researchers also highlight the importance of international cooperation and policy support to scale technology globally. Island nations and developing countries, they argue, stand to benefit the most from reduced energy dependency and greener infrastructure.  

By tapping into the naturally cold reservoirs of the deep ocean, IIT Bombay’s research framework provides a roadmap to sustainable cooling at a scale, cutting emissions while supporting the world’s rapidly expanding digital economy. 

The researchers said that developing nations may benefit immensely, particularly island nations and countries with immense coastal regions like India. But success will depend on collaboration, technology transfer, and green financing.  

Published – August 25, 2025 11:16 am IST

Image for representational purposes only.
| Photo Credit: E. Lakshmi Narayanan

A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) – Bombay have come up with a new technique that can measure the rate of iron coating degradation. This discovery claims to hold the potential of benefiting the steel industry. Metals corrode with time, and some metals corrode more than others, like iron rusts in days, while gold and silver take decades or centuries to deteriorate. According to a recent market analysis report by Grand View Research, the market for such corrosion inhibitors is a $8.93 billion market projected to grow at 3.6% annually from 2025 to 2030.

Metals often have a layer of protective coating, like the paint on cars, to prevent corrosion. A more efficient way of protecting metals is by coating them with organic coatings that are basically layers of carbon-based polymeric substances, natural or synthetic, applied in the form of paints and varnishes. However, the efficiency of organic coatings deteriorates with time because the coatings have pores and defects that allow water and oxygen to reach the underlying metal surface over time and corrode it.

The coating wears with time because of a fundamental electrochemical process called oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), where molecular oxygen gets reduced to water or hydrogen peroxide or hydroxyl ions. This process occurs in various electrochemical devices, including fuel cells and metal-air batteries.

A couple of years ago, a team of researchers led by Professor Vijayshankar Dandapani at the Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science at IIT Bombay established an improved quantitative method to characterise the performance of organic coatings used for corrosion protection. The researchers combined hydrogen permeation-based potentiometry (HPP) with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and this technique allowed the researchers to quantify the degradation rates at the interface between the organic coating and the metal. While HPP gives a direct measure of hydrogen permeation, EIS provides insights into how hydrogen permeation corrodes the coated metal. 

Mr. Dandapani said, “The idea itself came from an attempt to find if a complementary technique such as EIS can be used to strengthen the interpretations from the HPP approach.”

In an earlier study, Mr. Dandapani said that the researchers provided proof-of-concept by measuring ORR at the interface between a model polymer coating and palladium metal using HPP and EIS. In this new study, the IIT Bombay’s team along with researchers from the University in Brest, France, have extended this application to an important industrial metal, iron.

This study received funding from the Indo-French Centre for Promotion of Advanced Research -CEFIPRA and the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), India.

“We coated a thin layer of iron on palladium membranes and coated the iron with a polymer called poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA). They measured the rate at which oxygen reduction reaction occurred at the interface between PMMA and iron using HPP-EIS. They captured the current-potential (I(U)) curves and corresponding impedance values, which they found to be higher than that for a bare iron surface. High impedance values correspond to low corrosion rates and vice versa. The combined usage of HPP-EIS also gave a clearer picture of ORR happening at the interface between the iron surface and the organic coating, more than either of them could individually and validated the use of the HPP-EIS technique to evaluate ORR occurring at interfaces that one cannot easily study using the traditional methods because the interface between organic coatings and metals is buried and inaccessible,” Mr. Dandapani explained.

HPP-EIS is cost-effective because it requires only two potentiostats, simple electronic devices that control and measure the voltage between two electrodes. Mr. Dandapani said that HPP-EIS can be used to monitor how quickly the organic coating will give way for the iron to rust, and that the method would be of interest not only to the steel industry but will also be useful in the field of fuel cells and sensors.

With hydrogen blending becoming increasingly popular to reduce emissions from natural gas, one can also apply the HPP-EIS technique to determine how quickly the coat of paint on a natural gas pipeline, where hydrogen is blended with natural gas, degrades, Mr. Dandapani said highlighting a potential application.

Space tech start-up, Manastu Space has successfully test fired their first Green Propulsion System in space on December 31, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

 

Space tech start-up, Manastu Space, started by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has successfully test fired their first Green Propulsion System VYOM 2U onboard PSLV C60 in space on December 31, 2024, at 8:50 p.m. in Lucknow. The Green Propulsion System is a non-toxic, environmentally friendly alternative to conventional chemical propulsion systems that are being researched to find efficient propellants that have a minimal impact on the environment and human health.  

Manastu Space was founded in 2017 by alumni Tushar Jadhav from the Department of Aerospace Engineering 2014 batch and Ashtesh Kumar from the Department of Mechanical Engineering 2017 batch. Led by a team of experts in propulsion systems, satellite technology, and advanced materials, the technology has been developed in collaboration and mentoring with IIT Bombay, where many initial prototyping and critical technologies were developed under Professor Jayesh Bellare from Chemical Engineering, Professor Parag Bhargava from Metallurgical Engineering & Materials Science, and Professor Amol Gokhale from Department of Mechanical Engineering.  

Tushar Jadhav, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Manastu Space said that the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module, or POEM, is a versatile initiative by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) designed to provide a cost-effective platform for on-orbit experiments. POEM transforms the fourth stage of the PSLV rocket into a free-flying testbed in low Earth orbit, offering startups, research institutions, and universities an affordable way to validate their technologies in space.  

“We test-fired our green propulsion system Vyom-2U onboard the POEM-4 on the New Year’s Eve. We are deeply grateful to the ISRO and the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) for providing an incredible platform like POEM to test our product and many others,” Mr. Jadhav said.  

For emerging players like Manastu Space, POEM serves as a vital enabler. Launching proprietary systems into space has traditionally been prohibitively expensive for smaller entities. By leveraging POEM, startups can bypass high launch costs and focus on innovation, fostering a more inclusive and dynamic space ecosystem in India.   

Professor Jayesh Bellare said that the system, launched aboard ISRO’s POEM, has now reached Technology Readiness Level 8 (TRL-8), marking its readiness for commercial deployment.  

Demonstration of seed germination in outer space, a robotic arm to catch a tethered debris there, and testing of green propulsion systems are some of the experiments planned on the POEM-4.  

The POEM is carrying 24 experiments, 14 from various ISRO labs and 10 from private universities and startups to demonstrate various technologies in space. 

“The mission, aptly named Adyanta, demonstrated the propulsion system’s exceptional capabilities through a series of critical maneuvers. Over the coming weeks, the system will achieve more than 500 seconds of cumulative firing time in orbit, solidifying its performance under real-world conditions. This milestone represents a paradigm shift in satellite propulsion, offering a safer, more efficient, and cost-effective alternative to conventional toxic propellants,” Mr. Bellare said. 

Mr. Jadhav said that this success marks a transformative moment as the team transitions from development to commercialisation. “With our green propulsion technology validated in space, we are poised to meet the growing global demand for sustainable satellite propulsion. To fuel our growth and commercialisation efforts, we are actively expanding our team by hiring experienced professionals in the space domain. Their expertise will drive innovation, scale operations, and accelerate our mission to redefine propulsion standards in the global space industry. This accomplishment also positions us strongly as we prepare for our next funding round, building on the momentum of our $3 million pre-Series A raise in 2023,” Mr. Jadhav explained.   

On the technological impact, Ashtesh Kumar, Chief Technology Officer of Manastu Space said, “Reaching TRL-8 underscores the maturity and reliability of our technology and marks a defining moment for sustainable space propulsion. The extensive space testing of our VYOM 2U propulsion system, withstanding approximately 400 hours in orbit, demonstrates its robustness and readiness for long-duration missions.”  

In a thrilling 30second firing onboard PSLV POEM-4, the Green Propulsion System tilted the platform by 24 degrees, spinning it at 0.5°/s before onboard systems seamlessly regained control, Mr. Kumar added.  

Over the coming days, PSLV will execute critical manoeuvres, culminating in 500+ seconds of cumulative in-space firing time across the next 1500 hours. “This In-Orbit Demonstration (IOD) is a historic leap for sustainable propulsion, paving the way for cleaner and more innovative space exploration—where Manastu Space is proudly leading the charge,” Mr. Kumar said. 

Image demonstrating the effects of bacterial mixture from the study. 
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Soil contamination is one of the major issues in the agriculture industry. These compounds are toxic, can inhibit seed germination, reduce plant growth, yield and also accumulate in seeds and plant biomass.  

Traditional approaches to remove these pollutants, like chemical treatments or soil removal, often turn out to be band-aid solutions – expensive and unable to tackle the problem completely. 

To address this issue, a team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) have identified bacteria from toxic environments. While doing so, they noticed that certain bacterial species, specifically from the genera Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter, were especially good at breaking down aromatic compounds. In a recent study published in the journal Environmental Technology and Innovation, researchers have used the power of specific bacterial species to remove organic pollutants from soil. 

Professor Prashant Phale, from the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering at IIT Bombay, under whose guidance Sandesh Papade carried out the research for his PhD. explained that these bacteria were isolated from contaminated soil and agricultural fields.

“They feed on pollutants, breaking them down into simpler, harmless, non-toxic compounds. In this way, they act as natural cleaners of polluted environments. Like feeding two birds with one scone, while breaking down aromatic pollutants, these bacteria were also found to convert insoluble forms of essential nutrients, such as phosphorus and potassium, into soluble forms and make them readily available to the plants. They also produce substances called siderophores, which help plants absorb iron in nutrient-limited environments.”  

Moreover, these bacteria also contribute to plant growth and health by producing a high amount of growth hormone called indoleacetic acid (IAA). “So, while these bacteria are cleaning the soil, they are also helping plants grow healthier and more robust by fertilising the soil and improving soil health,” Mr. Phale added. 

Interestingly, when a mixture of bacteria from the Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter genera is used, they significantly boost the growth and yield of crops (wheat, mung bean, spinach, fenugreek, etc.) up to 45-50%, the research said.  

“As they say, ‘unity is the best policy.’ Some strains might be really good at breaking down pollutants, while others might be better at promoting plant growth or defending against diseases. By combining them, we assembled a team of bacteria that can work together cooperatively, doing a variety of jobs simultaneously and more efficiently,” Mr. Phale said.  

Fungal diseases are another problem affecting several crops worldwide. According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations, hundreds of fungal diseases impact 168 crops essential to human nutrition. Despite the use of fungicides and disease-resistant cultivars, fungal infections still cause global crop losses of 10–23% annually, with key calorie crops consumed in India, like rice and wheat, particularly affected. Mr. Phale said that the study has a potential solution to this grave problem, too.

“These helpful bacteria produce substances like lytic enzymes and HCN [hydrogen cyanide] that can kill or inhibit the growth of plant pathogenic fungi. These bacteria act like a natural defence system for plants. Unlike chemical pesticides, which can harm the environment and beneficial organisms, these bacteria are eco-friendly and target only the harmful fungi,” he explained.   

Although the findings from the research have a lot of potential in a real-world situation, the researchers believe that it will take some time for widespread adoption, as the technology will need to be scaled up, tested in different environments, and made available as commercial products. 

In the future, researchers also want to test how these helpful bacteria benefit plants during droughts and other environmental stress conditions. They also intend to create easy-to-use products, called bio-formulations, that combine the bacteria with natural materials, making them long-lasting and simple for farmers to apply in agriculture fields. 

In a significant development for sustainable environmental management, scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) have introduced AroTrack, an economical and portable device to accurately detect harmful pollutants such as phenol or benzene in water.  

Scientists claim that the device can be a game-changer given the increasing water pollution due to industrialisation, urbanisation, and unregulated effluent discharge.  

AroTrack device uses proteins typically found in bacteria living in heavily polluted environments to effectively identify multiple aromatic pollutants in water. Once mixed in the water sample, the protein undergoes a highly selective ATP hydrolysis chemical reaction if an aromatic compound is present in the sample. This reaction is expressed with a change in the colour of the protein solution, which AroTrack can then detect. The device is highly robust and compact, measuring slightly smaller than a small projector. 

Professor Ruchi Anand from the Department of Chemistry, Professor Rajdip Bandyopadhyaya from the Department of Chemical Engineering and their team at IIT Bombay introduced a simple and affordable biosensing device capable of detecting harmful compounds such as, phenol, benzene, and xylenols.  

The key component of the device is a biosensing module called MopR – a sensitive sensor for detecting phenol. Ms. Anand’s research team engineered it from the Acinetobacter calcoaceticus bacteria in 2017. MopR is both selective and stable, meaning it can detect pollutants even in complex environments with a high degree of precision. 

Researchers at IIT Bombay have further diversified the MopR biosensor to detect other pollutants from the benzene and xylenol groups by engineering mutations in the bacterial protein. “The protein biosensing is very specific as the protein sensing pocket is tailor-made for the ligand (ion or molecule, like phenol or benzene). We have engineered mutations in the DNA of the protein sequence that can give mutant versions of the protein that now sense different molecules, creating a battery of sensors. Each sensor is particularly designed for a ligand,” Ms. Anand explains. 

Once interfaced with an in-house, multi-channel monitoring apparatus, the MopR-based sensor forms the core of the newly developed aromatics tracking device—AroTrack. Talking about how the AroTrack detects the pollutants using the biosensor modules, Mr. Bandyopadhyaya explained, “AroTrack contains a light emitting diode [LED]-phototransistor assembly, that shines a light of appropriate wavelength through the sample and detects how much is absorbed. A more intense colour generates a higher absorbance.”  

The overall cost of the device is a minimum of $ 50 [less than ₹5,000]. Mr. Bandyopadhyaya said that AroTrack was born out of the philosophy to make field-usable analytical devices, based on translating analytical capabilities generated in the laboratory into actual field-ready devices. “It is designed so that almost any user, technically trained or layman, may quickly learn and generate accurate data for traditionally difficult to measure and distinguish aromatic xenobiotic pollutants,” he said. 

“Using in-house 3D printing in our laboratory, we were able to economically design, fabricate and iterate a fully functional device. Also, the cost could be kept down by using basic electronics and open-source, mass-produced microcontrollers for data processing and analysis,” Mr. Bandyopadhyaya added. 

AroTrack can detect several aromatic contaminants, including phenol, benzene, and 2, 3 dimethylphenol, even when these pollutants are present in low concentrations – usually in the 10-200 parts per billion range. 

Tests in simulated wastewater and actual environmental samples have found that the AroTrack is highly reliable, offering a degree of accuracy and efficiency on par with modern spectrophotometers, which are currently used for detection. The device also reliably worked in water temperatures up to 50 degrees Celsius and completed the tests in under 30 minutes, the scientists said. 

Due to its low cost, battery-operated nature, and portability, AroTrack can be ideal for rural and low-income settings that often lack resources and have difficulty accessing expensive laboratory tests, Ms. Anand said, “We are currently trying to increase the type of pollutants to biphenyl aromatics and pollutants that are complex aromatics.” 

Speaking about its market readiness, Mr. Bandyopadhyaya said, “The product is ready as an initial functional prototype, which can demonstrate all the reported functions. To make it fully market-ready, more field trials and quality analysis are needed to assess its robustness under more varied working conditions in the field, with a wider variety of water sources and compositions.” 

The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and Sinclair Inc have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for “collaboration of technology and standards development in wireless broadcast services over next generation telecom and broadcast networks.” 

Sinclair, a diversified media company and a leading provider of local broadcast television, in a statement said, “Research efforts will focus on enhancements to the international ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) 3.0 wireless broadcast standard for a variety of mobile, television and other fixed applications that can benefit India and the world.” 

The new capabilities of ATSC 3.0, they said, will advance “Broadcast-to-Everything (B2X) use cases to provide dynamic traffic management and fast interworking with 5G networks, efficient spectrum utilization, low-latency datacasting, edge content distribution and improved battery life for smartphones, featurephones, wearables and IoT devices.”

How Will IIT Bombay Contribute? 

IIT Bombay will also contribute directly to the B2X release standardization work under way as a member of ATSC, Sinclair said.

“B2X will help relieve network congestion, provide a high quality of service for concurrent and popular content, and promote sustainability. B2X further improves upon Direct-to-Mobile (D2M), extending broadcast into the IMT-2030 (6G) ecosystem,” they added.

India has over 1 billion mobile subscribers, over 200 million homes with TV, high per-capita mobile data consumption and proliferation of news, sports and other TV and radio channels. 

In the long term, Sinclair says, “B2X will drive progress in emergency and disaster management, remote education and skilling, advanced agricultural techniques, augmentation of satellite positioning and timing, vehicular communications and open AI-based applications for broadcasting and datacasting.” 

‘Excited To Partner’

Professor Shireesh Kedare, Director of IIT Bombay, said, “We are excited to partner with Sinclair in wireless telecom transformation and promote academic excellence, joint projects, and joint intellectual property development including Make in India initiatives to drive B2X adoption in India. It touches IIT Bombay’s mission to address the needs of society and country at large and develop technologies and products that improve the quality of life for both urban and rural population.” 

Chris Ripley, President and CEO, Sinclair, Inc, said, “We consider the collaboration work with IIT Bombay to be of the utmost importance in establishing ATSC 3.0-based B2X as the preferred technology for broadcasting and multicasting for diverse applications, not just in India, but ultimately across the globe. Sinclair is proud to have IIT Bombay reinforce our foundational role in advancing next generation broadcast.”  

Mark Aitken, Senior Vice President, Sinclair, Inc. and the guiding architect of the ATSC 3.0 standard, said “ATSC 3.0’s high bandwidth efficiency, and time and frequency interleaving features make it undisputedly the best mobile broadcast standard. ATSC 3.0 also stands alone with its bootstrap “blanking” feature that facilitates the introduction of B2X release enhancements without disrupting the operation of earlier releases.” 

Madeleine Noland, President of ATSC, said, “Telecom networks focus on unicast (one-to-one) communications, while B2X adds ATSC 3.0’s high performance broadcast (one-to-many) distribution aligned with mobile specifications. ATSC applauds Sinclair’s and IIT Bombay’s participation in B2X standards and technology development, which has the potential to revolutionize data distribution efficiency across multiple networks. IIT Bombay joins other world class academic and research institutions as ATSC’s newest member.” 

Shashi Shekhar Vempati, former CEO Prasar Bharati, and member of the ATSC Business Advisory Council, said, “The recent decision by Brazil to adopt the ATSC 3.0 standard for broadcast services, based on extensive testing of multiple systems, paves the way for B2X to further advance the standard’s broadcast resilience for the greater public good. This collaboration furthers the developmental goals of a Viksit Bharat (Developed Bharat) as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”