Tata Steel sets up Centre for Innovation in Mobility at IIT Madras Research Park

To play a key role in India’s mobility sector, Tata Steel has setup a Centre for Innovation in Mobility (CIM) in Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras Research Park. The new center will closely work with academic institutes and mobility industry. The Centre will develop application technologies for current and future mobility platforms such as automotive, railways and hyperloop. This new R&D Centre has facilities for Computer Aided Design and Engineering (CAD/CAE), Experimental Roll Forming, Dynamic Dent test system, AR/VR experience centre and full-scale facilities for vehicle benchmarking. This facility is in addition to the already available state-of-art application research centre at Jamshedpur. It will help the mobility industry with design and engineering, material selection, prototyping and testing.

1. V. Narendran, CEO & MD, Tata Steel, said: “Sustainable, safe, and affordable mobility solutions of the future will emerge from the cooperation of relevant industries, academia, and material suppliers who understand the challenges well. We believe that it is essential to focus on creating a culture that encourages agility and innovation. With an unparalleled focus on innovation and cutting-edge technologies, Tata Steel is committed to providing excellence at all touchpoints to our customers and will always be at the forefront of developing pioneering technologies. Our new center at IIT Madras is yet another way of reaffirming our commitment to creating innovative solutions for the mobility of the future.”

Dr Debashish Bhattacharjee, Vice President, Technology and New Material Business, Tata Steel, said: “The Centre for Innovation in Mobility is the first of Tata Steel’s multiple planned satellite R&D and Technology development centres in focussed, future-relevant areas. These satellite centres will be co-located with academia and/or customer. The CIM at the Research Park of IIT Madras will focus on developing multi-material design and manufacturing solutions for mobility including emerging technologies such as Hyperloop and Air Taxis.”   

Professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Institute Professor, IIT Madras, India & President, IITM Research Park, IITM Incubation Cell and RTBI, said: “India has the potential to become a powerhouse of innovation in mobility. This will substantially influence our economic growth as well. Over the years, IITMRP has developed a very strong R&D ecosystem, where leading industry and startups in the mobility sector have developed cutting edge technologies, with a focus on green mobility solutions. Tata Steel is also an innovation driven industry leader. With the launch of this new centre for innovation, we look forward to jointly leveraging our strengths in commercialising more homegrown technologies that significantly reimagine mobility on a global scale.”

Recently, Tata Steel and TuTr Hyperloop signed a Memorandum of Agreement at IIT Madras, to jointly work on development and deployment of Hyperloop technology at scale. Inter alia, the key challenges of design and materials selection will be addressed through this Centre for Innovation in Mobility. Over the last 20 years, Tata Steel has been the preferred supplier for all major automotive manufacturers and ancillaries in India and aspires to maintain this leadership position in the automotive segment.