TheIndian Institute of TechnologyinRoorkee(IIT-R) has developed briquettes that can be used for energy generation. These cost-effective briquettes — made fromforest bio residue(like pine needles fallen from trees) — release a very small amount of carbon into the as opposed to other energy sources, according to the premier institution.
These briquettes were developed under a project — titled Socio-Economic Value Creation through Forest Bio Residue Energy Generation in Alignment with the UNs SDGs — led by professors Vinay Sharma and Rajat Agrawal from the institute’s department of management studies. The grant for the pilot project was provided by the National Mission on Himalayan Studies, a central government intervention.
As part of the project, more than 1,000 quintals of pine needles were gathered from around 100 acres of forest land with the help of theUttarakhandforest department. Subsequently, these pine needles were crushed and processed to make briquettes. In addition to manufacturing the briquettes, the institute has also developed a mobile application to streamline the process of buying and selling briquettes.