NIT Srinagar ABC programme: sustainable metallurgy is central to green energy transition
thekashmirhorizon.comNIT Srinagar hosted an Alumni Back to Campus session focused on sustainable metallurgy and the green energy transition. Dr Ubaid Manzoor from the Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials spoke about how low-carbon energy systems depend on metals like nickel, copper, and cobalt, and pointed out that conventional nickel production can emit 22 to 28 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of metal. He also introduced hydrogen plasma smelting reduction (HPSR), an electrically driven process for extracting metals from lower-grade ores without relying on carbon-based reduction. The event is worth noting because it connects materials research to climate policy and industrial decarbonization. If clean energy is going to scale, the metal supply chain has to clean up as well. That means new process designs, cleaner electricity for smelting, and closer attention to the full lifecycle emissions of batteries, wind turbines, and grid infrastructure.