Everything you need to know about Shell’s Indian Technology Center

Dutch company Royal Dutch Shell Plc, commonly referred to as Shell, has opened a major new technology center in Bangalore – a purpose-built 52-acre technology center – with space for up to 1,500 experts, who would work collaboratively.

Inaugurating the centre, Honorable Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India Shri. Dharmendra Pradhan said: “Shell is developing a waste-to-energy technology called IH2 at the Technology Center in Bengaluru that takes only minutes to achieve what nature needs a million years to do.”

This IH2 technology can be a game changer and make my country a net exporter of energy. The 1,500 young scientists of Indian origin who will work at the Shell Technology Center in Bengaluru are India’s contribution to meeting the world’s energy needs, he added.

Located near the city’s international airport, the construction of this facility began in 2015. With this technology center, Shell India plans to increase its workforce in India to 6,000 people by the end of 2017, said Nitin Prasad , Chairman of Shell Companies in India.

Here is what the technology center aims to offer –

• The Bangalore Shell Technology Center is one of three major technology hubs in Shell’s global network of R&D centers, the other two being located in the Netherlands and the United States.
• The center is also helping pioneering efforts – using its IH2 (waste to fuel) technology – to turn forestry, agricultural and municipal waste into transportation fuels, with a new demonstration plant being built on the site.
• Specialists at Shell Technology Center Bangalore work closely with experts from external industry partners, universities and institutes.
• The technology center will function as an Asian technology hub for the Shell Group.
• The center is expected to play a leading role in Shell India’s aspiration to create a bespoke portfolio of new energy solutions specifically tailored to India’s energy challenges.
• To complement the opening of the center and the global “Make the Future” campaign, Shell has introduced the “#makethefutureAccelerator” program in India for the first time.

India’s tech hub comes at a time when global oil explorers and service companies have cut jobs and stalled projects. In India, this news comes amid the Goods and Services Tax (GST) tussle.