PNN
New Delhi [India], June 9: The IIT Alumni Council has invited leading industrial players to collaborate on the mass production of next-generation materials, designed using principles from the semiconductor industry and accelerated by AI-driven platforms.
At the heart of this initiative lies the AMAT AI Platform--a foundational large material model under development. Its goal: to replace scarce, expensive elements like lithium, cobalt, molybdenum, nickel, and indium with earth-abundant alternatives such as coal, thorium, silica, and iron ore.
"These projects require significant capital investments--often exceeding Rs10,000 crores," said Ravi Sharma, President and Chief Volunteer, IIT Alumni Council. "They include the design and fabrication of high-throughput process equipment and large-scale manufacturing plants. Our role is to act as a knowledge partner and incubate research startups via our Social Impact Fund. These startups are critical in adapting and refining the core technologies for industrial-scale deployment."
Reimagining Materials, Redefining Possibilities:
"Materials like carbon and silicon are extremely versatile," explained Mr. Jitendra Singh, Distinguished Fellow, IIT Alumni Council. "Carbon ranges from diamonds to coal, graphene superconductors to carbon insulators--depending on its structure. Silicon, when doped, transforms into a semiconductor. Together, carbon and silicon form silicon carbide, a key candidate for low-cost inverters and devices. We are also exploring zero-gap semiconductors, which could disrupt industries like energy storage, HVAC, and turbine manufacturing through new architectures like high-efficiency thermoelectric generators (TEGs) and Peltier-based cooling systems."
A Turning Point in Green Chemistry:
"AI's most visible early contribution to materials science is here," added Mr. Shashi Shekhar, environmentalist and former Secretary, Ministry of Water & Ganga Rejuvenation. "When combined with additive manufacturing and Industry 4.0, this opens the door to safe, sustainable, and high-performance materials. These can even replace corroding materials like ToR steel or expensive ones like food-grade stainless steel."
Shashi Shekhar, who now serves as Vice Chairman of Acme Group, noted that the Government of India's Green Hydrogen Mission is pushing for decarbonization of the steel industry.
"By aligning with the IIT Alumni Council, we plan to develop green steel alloys that are cost-effective, sustainable, and suitable for high-performance applications like additive manufacturing and specialized equipment."
Industry Progress and Global Partnerships:
Recently, Outokumpu delivered its first batch of specialty powdered stainless steel for 3D printing applications such as heat exchangers and aerospace components.
"It's remarkable that the IIT Alumni Council foresaw this trend and began building the ecosystem early--spanning AI-driven material innovation to carbon-free green steel production," said Mr. Y.P.S. Suri, former MD of Outokumpu India and IIT Kharagpur alumnus. "We are entering a new paradigm. I look forward to seeing the world's first process plant built entirely through additive manufacturing."
Gratitude to Visionary Contributors:
"The development of the AMAT AI Platform wouldn't be possible without the unwavering support of India's top corporations and visionary leaders," said Satish Mehta, Convenor of the IIT Alumni Social Fund.
He acknowledged contributions from:
Tata Group, Birla Group, Jindal Group, L&T, Reliance, Adani, ArcelorMittal, Ocior, Acme, Coal India, HPCL, among others.
He also thanked key members of the National Solar Task Force, including:
Padma Shri Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Prof. Juzer Vasi, Prof. Dinesh Kabra, and Prof. Anil Kottanthayil, for their guidance in the context of photovoltaics.
A special mention was made for the Distinguished Fellows of the IIT Alumni Council, including:
AI Chief Mentor Prof. Jyoti Joglekar and Silicon Valley collaborators Dr. Rohinton Dehmubed and Dr. Milind Kulkarni
"Their thousands of hours of effort and deep domain expertise have been instrumental. We thank each one of them."
Interested industry partners may write to applications@iitalumnicouncil.org on or before June 30, 2025
About IIT Alumni Council
IIT Alumni Council is the largest global body of alumni across all the twenty-three IITs. The Council aggregates the technological and philanthropic resources of over 50,000 alumni spread across one hundred city chapters. The IIT Alumni Council aspires to catalyse India's technological renaissance. The Council supported initiatives are funded through the IIT Alumni Social Fund. Council members are aligned with the various mission organisations (social fund, alumni outreach and longevity missions) and mission facilitators (startup incubator, project management & advisory forum and research institute)
www.iitalumnicouncil.org
About IIT Alumni Research Institute
IIT Alumni Research Institute is a mission organisation of the IIT Alumni Council. With over 500 distinguished fellows, over 250 industry partners and close to 100 academic partners - the Alumni Research Institute is establishing centres of excellence across twenty identified target industries, covering all the 64 advanced critical technologies.
www.institute.net.in
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