Overview
The Department of Atomic Energy through its units and aided institutes has been transferring and deploying several advanced techologies for the betterment of society. Supporting the Government of India’s initiatives on Atmanirbhar Bharat and Start-up India, the Deparment proactively launched incubation centres at BARC Mumbai, IGCAR Kalapakkam, RRCAT Indore, IPR Gandhinagar and VECC Kolkata. This step was aimed to make all the expertise, sophisticated infrastructure and technologies of DAE available to Industries and society at large. In the meantime, the Deparment initiated the recognition of such incubation centres with Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, New Delhi as ‘Atal Incubation Centre’.
Based on the DAE initiative, the Institute for Plasma Research established an Atal Incubation Centre as a special purpose vehicle under the section 8 of Companies Act 2013 in December 2023 with 100% ownership of DAE. The Atal Incubation Centre popularly known as ‘AIC-Plasmatech’ and ‘Plasmatech Innovation Foundation’ is legally registered with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs as ‘AIC – IPR Plasmatech Innovation Foundation’ (CIN: U72100GJ2023NPL146840).
About AIC – IPR Plasmatech Innovation Foundation (IPR’s Incubation Centre)
AIC-Plasmatech has been established within IPR premises to exploit the knowledgebase and available expertise and infrastrucutre of IPR to foster the growth of deeptech startups in India. The Atal Incubation Centre (AIC Plasmatech) would not only offer office space to startups, but will also offer the essential mentoring by IPR’s scientists along with access to technologies and infrastructure. Additionally, it will also provide access to business mentoring from available experts and external mentors including other support such as IP/patenting, marketing & branding etc. AIC Plasmatech is recognized and financially supported by Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, New Delhi.
OUR VISION
To become a globally renowned technology translation and innovation organization with deeptech expertise related to plasma and allied technologies.
OUR MISSION
To become one of the top five deeptech incubation centres in India, facilitating creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship with the support of all stakeholders in the ecosystem. Our goal is to meet social responsibilities and drive economic growth by 2034.
Creation
Innovating and developing new technologies.
Preservation
Maintaining and protecting our technical expertise.
Dissemination
Sharing knowledge and expertise with all aspirants.
Integrity
Upholding honesty and strong moral principles in all our endeavors.
Accountability
Being responsible to our community, society, and country.
About the Host - Institute for Plasma Research
Institute for Plasma Research
The Institute for Plasma Research (IPR) is a globally renowned research institute specializing in advanced plasma science and technology, with a specific emphasis on magnetic confinement fusion tokamaks. Established in 1986 in Bhat, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India, IPR was initially an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), with a mandate to pursue research in plasma science and technology. The institute rapidly grew and, in 1995, came under the administrative umbrella of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).
Over the years, IPR has developed expertise in various advanced fields such as theoretical and experimental plasma physics, computer modeling and simulation, deep learning and artificial intelligence, superconducting magnets and cryogenics, ultra-high vacuum technologies, sophisticated plasma diagnostic systems, RF and neutral beam heating systems, high voltage engineering and power supply systems, remote handling and robotics systems, pulsed power systems, data acquisition and control systems, and first wall and divertor technologies involving extremely high temperatures.Additionally, through its Facilitation Centre for Industrial Plasma Technologies (FCIPT), IPR has significantly contributed to industrial, environmental, and other societal plasma applications. A multi-disciplinary team of around 400 scientists and technologists carries out these tasks.
Other Centres of IPR
IPR also has other centres that work on specialized fields of research, briefly introduced as follows:
Facilitation Centre for Industrial Plasma Technologies (FCIPT)
The Facilitation Centre for Industrial Plasma Technologies (FCIPT) is a dedicated research and development centre of IPR, focusing on the development and deployment of societally and industrially relevant plasma technologies. FCIPT bridges the gap between the institute and industry, acting as a link for the further translation and transformation of technologies. Established in 1996, this centre has executed more than 100 externally sponsored projects in collaboration with industries and organizations both within India and abroad.
FCIPT is equipped with various plasma processing systems and sophisticated materials testing and characterization systems, making it an ideal place for industrial research. The activities at FCIPT are carried out by the Atmospheric Plasma Division (APD) and Plasma Surface Engineering Division (PSED). Applications include those relevant to space, defense, environment, energy, automobile, textile, melting/smelting, oil and gas, waste remediation, geology, and more.Additionally, the FCIPT campus will soon host the Technology Translation & Demonstration Centre (TETRADEC), which will also serve as the permanent office of AIC Plasmatech.
ITER-INDIA
The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is a multinational project involving participation from various countries aimed at proving the successful demonstration of deuterium-tritium (D-T) thermonuclear fusion using magnetically confined plasma. ITER will be constructed primarily through in-kind contributions from participant countries, with components manufactured by these countries and delivered/installed at the ITER site.ITER-INDIA is the Indian domestic agency (DA) formed with the responsibility of providing India’s contributions to the ITER project.
Centre for Plasma Physics – Institute for Plasma Research (CPP-IPR)
The Centre for Plasma Physics – Institute for Plasma Research (CPP-IPR) is a research centre of the Institute for Plasma Research (IPR), Gandhinagar, Gujarat, an autonomous institute under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India. The centre was initially formed in 1991 with a small group of scientists as a project of the Government of Assam and functioned as an autonomous institute under the Department of Science & Technology, Government of Assam, until May 29, 2009. From that date onwards, the institute was integrated as a centre of the Institute for Plasma Research under the DAE, Government of India.