COIMBATORE: Activity in the field of solid state ionics is growing rapidly. The wide range of applications it has in electrochemical devices play a vital role in meeting energy constraints and ecological needs and also in the country’s space and defence projects, A. Sivathanu Pillai, Chief Controller of Defence Research and Development Organisation, and Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of BrahMos Aerospace, said here on Monday.
He was speaking at the inauguration of the five-day 11th Asian Conference on Solid State Ionics at Bharathiar University, hosted by the BU-DRDO Centre for Life Sciences for the Asian Society for Solid State Ionics (ASSSIS). Nearly 150 delegates from various countries are participating.
“Solid state ionics is an interdisciplinary science comprising physics, chemistry and materials science of ion transport phenomenon in solids and properties resulting from ion mobility,” he said.
Speaking on developing economically feasible alternative energy storage systems, he said the properties of a good power source should include light, weight, cost effectiveness, high energy density, rechargeability and safety. “Lithium batteries are one of the best to meet most of these requirements due to their potential for very high density and low environmental impact. Fuel cells are also emerging as important components of renewable energy in space programmes and submarines.”
Pointing out the significance of fuel cell-operated vehicles, he said the system was powered by high-pressure hydrogen instead of petrol. He believed that nanotechnology had the potential to make the next wave after solid-state technology and biotechnology.
B.V.R. Chowdari, President of ASSSIS, said the utility of solid state ionic devices was growing every day. Hence, the conference would provide the ideal platform for Asian scientists to exchange ideas.
G. Thiruvasagam, Vice-Chancellor, Bharathiar University, said the government was not able to control the spiralling price of essential commodities.
“There is scarcity of oil and oil-related products. When a government failed to tackle this issue, then its very existence becomes questionable. Where administrators and economists have failed, it is in the hands of scientists to find solutions to alternative energy resources.”
He believed that research on solid state ionics had the potential to change the economic profile of a country and of political equations. S. Balasubramanian, Director of the BU-DRDO centre, and S. Selvasekarapandian, convenor of the conference, spoke.
Source: http://www.hindu.com/2008/06/10/stories/2008061053910500.htm
