The Technology Development Board (TDB), a statutory body of the Department of Science & Technology, has entered into an agreement with a Hyderabad-based startup for developing new technologies for harvesting daylight as part of its endeavors to promote the reduction of carbon footprint and improve building energy efficiency.

The TDB signed the memorandum of understanding with Skyshade Daylights Private Ltd in the presence of Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; Minister of State PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy, and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh. TDB will provide an assistance of Rs5 crore for a Rs10 crore project to Skyshade company for developing new technologies for basement illumination on a round-the-clock basis.

The company is already engaged in designing and building large skylight domes for building atriums and solar thermal technologies. It has recently come up with two new solutions—a climate adaptive building facade and a central integrated daylighting system. The solar energy spectrum has 45% energy as visible light, and this can be used to harvest building illumination for about 9-11 hours a day.

Noting that lighting is a fundamental requirement of daily life, Rajesh Kumar Pathak, Secretary, TDB, said “Meeting energy requirements during the day by using daylight harvesting technologies will contribute immensely to meet the commitment to make India a net zero-emission country by 2070. We believe that the new project will prove to be a game-changer and lead to a mass movement for environmental conscious lifestyle in years to come.”

With the world’s largest expansion plan in the renewable energy sector, India aims to universalize access to sustainable energy solutions and enable a low carbon future, with significant economic, environmental, and social impact. The country has set an ambitious target to achieve a capacity of 175GW of its energy requirement from renewable energy sources by the end of 2022 and achieve 500GW by 2030, as stated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the COP26 summit in Glasgow.

By: DocMemory
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