Nikhil S. Tambe serves as CEO, the Energy Consortium, IIT Madras, overseeing the development of industry-academia-government partnerships with a core focus on energy transition. He is also chair of the Energy Committee at the Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industries, a member of the Advisory Board of the Green Fuel Alliance India (led by Innovation Denmark), and an academy expert for the India Energy Storage Alliance. He is an IICA-certified independent director specialising in ESG disclosures and reporting.
For Tambe, the most exciting aspect of his current role is exploring the cutting-edge technologies shaping the energy transition towards a low-carbon future. He enjoys the vantage point that allows him to interact with industry, academia and government stakeholders from around the globe. “On the one hand, our focus is on improving round-the-clock availability of renewables through novel medium- and long-term energy storage solutions. On the other hand, it is on effectively aiding this transition by incubating technologies for carbon capture and utilisation, and green fuel generation and utilisation; as well as helping serve the hard-to-electrify sectors,” Tambe notes.
Tambe believes that growth in renewables is very bullish, having closely followed the capacity additions in land-based solar and onshore wind in recent years. He is very optimistic about the aggressive 500 GW target. He sees great opportunity for solar in rooftop installations, and tremendous potential for floating solar installations on canals, dam backwaters and large lakes, including those used by heavy industries. Offshore wind, although not the largest addition to the overall mix, still has good potential and can support the grid in power-hungry industrial neighbourhoods within and near Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. “I look forward to microgrid applications that will help cater to the challenges posed by capacity additions for power evacuation. I foresee that technologies focusing on grid availability, reliability and integrity are going to be especially relevant. There is a need to heavily utilise digital tools for managing this,” says Tambe.
Tambe holds a PhD in mechanical engineering and certifications in policy design and innovation management. His main goal is to lead the most fertile consortium commercialising low-carbon technologies. In his spare time, he enjoys travelling and experiencing different cuisines and cultures.
