The Hindu : Business : DuPont’s knowledge centre goes on stream

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Saturday, Nov 22, 2008
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DuPont’s knowledge centre goes on stream

Special Correspondent

To work on cheaper solar PV modules

Sixth major R&D centre outside U.S.
To accommodate 600 professionals

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER: Homi Bhedwar (left), Director, DuPont Knowledge Centre, with Balvinder S. Kalsi, President and CEO, DuPont India, at the inauguration of the centre in Hyderabad on Friday.

HYDERABAD: The DuPont Knowledge Centre (DKC), which was inaugurated at the ‘Genome Valley’ on the campus of the ICICI Knowledge Park here on Friday, proposes to work on inventing flexible thin-film solar photovoltaic modules. “I am thinking of this. They should work on a roller-type of thing without occupying much space and available even at a kirana shop at an affordable price,” said Director, DKC, Homi Bhedwar.

The DKC, built at a cost of Rs. 130 crore by DuPont, has scope for doubling its capacity, said Balvinder Singh Kalsi, President and CEO, DuPont India. The biotech research centre was commissioned in July and had 180 scientists. The DKC would employ 300 more scientists and engineers in 2009 and expand further finally to have 600 employees in the existing facility. Mr. Kalsi said at a press conference that the centre would have laboratories for biotechnology, materials research, an applications development, and global engineering design centre, DuPont services centre, and greenhouses.

The centre would facilitate basic research, applications development, engineering design, bioinformatics, patent services, and many regional support services. Built on a ‘One DuPont’ concept, the research at the site would focus on ‘integrated science’ — combinations of biology, chemistry, materials science and engineering — to develop the company’s application pipeline in India and other emerging markets, said Mr. Kalsi.

This was the sixth major R&D centre for DuPont out of the 50 it so far had. The core areas of research included food (rice and corn), renewable energy, building and construction material, automotive components and safety and security equipment would form part of the research, said Mr. Bhedwar.

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