NewzVille Desk
The Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, today launched the India–Netherlands Hydrogen Fellowship Programme, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the University of Groningen, Netherlands, and 19 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to establish an enabling academic cooperation framework in green energy and hydrogen research.
The Fellowship Programme for which the Scheme Guidelines and Call for Proposals (CFP) was released today, is a national capacity-building initiative open to eligible Indian doctoral, postdoctoral, and faculty applicants across institutions.
The programme was launched by Secretary Department of Science and Technology, Prof. Abhay Karandikar in the presence of Huib Mijnarends, Deputy Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to India.
While launching the programme, Prof. Karandikar, Secretary, DST, said that focused international collaboration and targeted capacity-building initiatives are critical for advancing hydrogen technologies from research to deployment, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors aligned with India’s clean energy transition goals.
Huib Mijnarends emphasized the alignment of Indo-Dutch cooperation in hydrogen and energy transition. Prof. Dr. Jouke de Vries, President, University of Groningen, underlined the role of sustained academic partnerships in addressing global energy challenges.
The India–Netherlands Hydrogen Fellowship Programme aims to strengthen India’s deployment readiness in hydrogen technologies through structured exposure to advanced hydrogen ecosystems in the Netherlands, with emphasis on system integration, safety, techno-economic analysis, life-cycle assessment, and indigenisation pathways.
The fellowship is designed to ensure that research outcomes directly contribute to national clean energy priorities.
DST also hosted the signing of the institution-to-institution MoU between the University of Groningen and 19 IITs, establishing an enabling framework for long-term academic cooperation in hydrogen and green energy research.
The MoU would facilitate faculty and student exchange, joint research, and knowledge sharing, and operates without automatic financial commitments.
The high-level engagement reflects India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission, Energy Independence 2047, and Net-Zero 2070 objectives.
Professor Dhirendra S. Katti, Director IIT Goa; Prof. Venkappayya R. Desai, Director IIT Dharwad; Dr. Anita Gupta, Head CEST Division, DST; Dr. Ranjith Krishna Pai, Senior Director, HVIC and HFC Program Officer, CEST, DST and senior officials from other IITs were also present at the event.
