In a significant move to bolster sustainable resource management and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad and Australia's Monash University have jointly established the Australia-India Critical Minerals Research Hub (AICMRH).
This pioneering initiative, approved by India's Ministry of Education (MoE), aims to revolutionize the critical minerals sector through cutting-edge research and collaboration.
The AICMRH is poised to become a leading center of expertise on critical mineral extraction, processing, and sustainable mining practices. It will offer invaluable advice on criticality assessments, economic geology, and supply chain analysis.
The hub's establishment aligns with India's National Education Policy (NEP) and the Australian Researcher Cooperation Hub (ARCH-India), underscoring the commitment of both nations to fostering research collaboration and innovation.
A key focus of the collaboration between IIT Hyderabad and Monash University is to nurture skills and talent for a sustainable approach to resource management.
This aligns with the G20's emphasis on diversifying supply chains for energy transitions. The partnership will explore potential areas of cooperation, including carbon capture, utilization, coal preparation upgrading, and mitigation of fugitive emissions from coal mining.
The AICMRH is a result of the Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC) proposal, spearheaded by IIT Hyderabad and Monash University.
This initiative has united numerous Indian and Australian universities, research and development (R&D) labs, and industries under a common goal. The MoE has sanctioned $1.15 million to support this collaborative effort in the critical minerals sector.
Professor BS Murty of IIT Hyderabad and Professor Susan Elliott of Monash University formally signed the agreement for the project. Professor Murty emphasized the hub's role in driving impactful advancements in the critical minerals domain, while Monash University's vice chancellor, Craig Jeffrey, highlighted the hub's potential to foster collaborative research activities and knowledge exchange on a global scale.
