Shell on Friday opened its new major technology hub in Bengaluru - a 52 acre, custom built technology centre - that can house up to 1,500 experts, who would collaboratively work on worldwide innovative energy projects.

The Bangalore Shell Technology Centre is one of the three main technology hubs in Shell’s global network of R&D centres, with the other two located in the Netherlands and the USA. The new centre houses a variety of technical experts, laboratories and technology demonstration units. It is home to a wide spectrum of technical disciplines and has specific expertise in fields such as liquefied natural gas, subsurface modelling, data analysis, engineering design, bitumen, distillation, water technology and enhanced computational research. The centre is also helping pioneer efforts - using its IH2 (waste to fuel) technology - to turn forestry, agricultural and municipal waste into transportation fuels, with a new demonstration plant being built at the site.

The facility was opened by Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, along with Alphonsus Stoelinga, Ambassador of Netherlands to India, R V Deshpande, Karnataka Minister for Industries, and Krishna Byregowda, Karnataka Minister for Agriculture.

Speaking on the occasion, Dharmendra Pradhan said: “India has an opportunity to make a significant contribution to the world's incremental energy needs in the years ahead. Shell is developing a waste to fuel technology called IH2 at the Technology Centre in Bengaluru that takes only a few minutes to achieve what nature requires a million years to do. This IH2 technology can be one of the game changers that can make my country a net exporter of energy. 1500 young scientists of Indian origin who will work at the Shell Technology Centre Bengaluru are India's contribution to meeting the world's energy requirement.”

Harry Brekelmans, Shell’s Projects & Technology Director, present at the centre’s inauguration said: “Innovation and technology are vital to providing more and cleaner energy solutions for a growing world population. We consider R&D a fundamental part of Shell’s past and future success. Therefore, we continue to invest in people, projects and facilities, such as this high-tech hub Successful innovation, however, is more than just making balanced investments. Collaboration across different disciplines and with other sectors externally is a key enabler of successful innovation. And collaboration is essential to meet our biggest challenge: timely development and deployment of the best and affordable energy solutions, for today and for the future as the world transitions to a low carbon energy system. Our new Bangalore technology hub brings together the right people in a city that is synonymous with innovation.”