Monash, Tata Steel to establish innovation centre

Tata Steel – part of the Indian Tata conglomerate – and Monash University will establish a new Centre for Innovation on Environment and Intelligent Manufacturing, the company’s first major R&D collaboration with an Australian institution.

In a joint statement on a signed MoU on Friday, the university said it would draw on its “world-leading expertise in materials science and advanced manufacturing technology”, and create stronger links between Australian innovators and India.

Few details were given in the release, but it was said the partnership would feature collaboration on “global challenges including decarbonisation, sustainable resource recovery, and technologies towards smart manufacturing.”

“The Centre for Innovation is aligned strategically with our mission of thinking locally, but acting globally, as we strive to create impact for Australian-born science and technology,” said Professor Mainak Majumder, Director of the ARC Research Hub for Advanced Manufacturing with 2D Materials (AM2D) at Monash.

Tata Steel was established in 1907 and is the oldest steelmaker in India. It has an annual crude steel capacity of 35 million tonnes per annum, as well as a Net Zero by 2045 goal. 

The company said it is seeking “innovative ways to achieve its sustainability goals through continuous experimentation, investments in research, technological innovations, and collaborations” and had recently signed MoUs with Imperial College London and The Henry Royce Institute for centres of innovation in the UK.

CEO & Managing Director T. V. Narendran said, “Today, we are building a comprehensive ecosystem that involves partners from academia and the world of startups.

“Our agreement with Monash University, an institute with an impressive reputation in material science and the ability to scale research into market-ready solutions, is an addition to this ecosystem.”

Picture: supplied