Nagaland University PhD Scholar Dipankar Hazarika has won the support of the Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi for his Research on Battery Technologies. This innovation could play a critical role in enabling flexible, wearable, and sustainable electronic devices and support India’s goal for clean and safe energy storage technologies.
Working under the supervision of Dr. Nurul Alam Choudhury,Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Nagaland University, Mr. Dipankar Hazarika has been selected for the prestigious ‘Energy Innovation Fellowship Grant’ to accelerate community innovations in battery energy storage in India.
Such indigenous innovative solutions that directly empower local communities in Battery and Energy Technologies are vital for India to achieve its commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2070. Batteries hold immense potential to transform energy access and resilience at community level, offering sustainable, scalable solutions for rural development, energy equity and livelihood enhancement.
His work has already achieved laboratory-scale validation and an Indian patent has been filed to protect the innovation. He has already developed a lab-scale prototype, which exhibited excellent physicochemical and electrochemical performance including high-rate capability, high areal capacitance and a remarkable cycle life of 51,500 cycles at 2 mAcm-2 in an all-solid-state supercapacitor.
Notably, his research was recently published in the reputed Journal of Power Sources (a Q1 Journal with an Impact Factor of 8.1) in a research paper titled ‘An ionically cross-linked chitosan hydrogel membrane electrolyte for long-lived electrical double layer capacitors’ (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2024.236037). The Research Paper was co-authored by Mr. Dipankar Hazarika, Mr. Duangailung Kamei, Mr. Nuphizo Shijoh, and Dr. Nurul Alam Choudhury.
Thanking the Norwegian Embassy and his University, Mr. Dipankar Hazarika, who is currently doing his PhD research at the Laboratory for Polymer Materials and Renewable Energy, Department of Chemistry, Nagaland University, said, “This Fellowship will significantly strengthen my research by providing access to expert mentorship and opportunities for industry linkage. I believe it will help translate my research into a product that contributes to sustainable energy solutions. Going forward, we are going to conduct performance testing under real-world conditions and seek industry collaborations for scaling up the product and taking it to the market so that country can benefit from this technology.”
Mr. Dipankar Hazarika is one of the only 13 innovators in the country to be selected for this Fellowship Grant. This initiative is being implemented in collaboration with Innovation Norway, NITI Aayog (Government of India), The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), and Atal Incubation Centers (AICs). The regional host for the North East is AIC-SMUTBI (Atal Incubation Center – Sikkim Manipal University Technology Business Incubation), led by Prof. Tej Chingtham, CEO of AIC-SMUTBI.
Congratulating the research scholar on his path-breaking work, Prof. Jagadish K. Patnaik, Vice-Chancellor, Nagaland University, said, “I wholeheartedly congratulate Mr. Dipankar Hazarika on this prestigious achievement. This milestone reflects the growing research excellence at Nagaland University and inspires others to pursue impactful science”.
The Fellowship also offers mentorship and entrepreneurial guidance from national experts. Dr. Nikhil Tambe, CEO of The Energy Consortium at IIT Madras, is one of the key mentors guiding the fellows through technology readiness scaling, product translation, and real-world deployment.
Expressing his gratitude to the Royal Norwegian Embassy, TERI, and NITI Aayog for partnering with AIC-SMUTBI to support battery technology innovations in North East India, Prof. Tej Chingtham, CEO, AIC-SMUTBI, said, “This collaboration empowers local start-ups working on clean energy solutions, and we look forward to continued cooperation in driving sustainable impact together.”
Out of over 100 proposals submitted from five regions across India—Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, and the North East—only 13 innovators were selected. Mr. Dipankar Hazarika was among the two selected fellows from the North East to move forward in Phase I of the program. His awarded project is titled ‘Sustainable Biopolymer-based Hydrogel Electrolytes for Next-generation Solid-state Energy Storage’.
Highlighting the importance of such research and innovation, his PhD Supervisor, Dr. Nurul Alam Choudhury, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Nagaland University, said, “Dipankar’s achievement is a proud moment for our laboratory and the university. His research shows promise in solving real-world energy challenges with sustainable approaches. Biopolymers—such as chitosan (derived from crab and shrimp shells), gelatin, starch, and cellulose—are renewable, biodegradable, low-cost, and safe. They serve as ideal candidates to replace petroleum-derived synthetic materials in green energy applications.”
Dr. Nurul Alam Choudhury added, “While electrolytes are just as critical as electrodes in energy storage devices, research on electrolytes has received comparatively less attention. This is mainly due to the complexity involved in designing stable, safe, and high-performing electrolyte materials, as well as their lower visibility in performance metrics compared to electrodes, which often get more recognition for improving energy density.”
NEED FOR SUCH RESEARCH
Most conventional electrolytes used today are liquid-based. While they perform adequately, they suffer from serious limitations such as leakage, toxicity, and high flammability. These safety and environmental concerns have limited their suitability for use in next-generation technologies like flexible or wearable electronics.
To overcome these challenges, Nagaland University researchers focused on quasi-solid hydrogel electrolytes, providing a safer, biodegradable, and more stable alternative. This approach addresses a long-overlooked yet critical component of next-generation energy storage systems. Mr. Hazarika’s hydrogel membrane electrolyte is based on chitosan and a non-toxic ionic crosslinker such as sodium carbonate.
It offers the following benefits:
- ⮚ Leak-proof and non-flammable
- ⮚ Biodegradable and non-toxic
- ⮚ Cost-effective and scalable
- ⮚ Excellent ionic conductivity of 7.89 mScm-1 and electrochemical stability upto 2.32V.
