CHENNAI: Fishermen who have been struggling to keep their engines from getting rusted can heave a sigh of relief. A start-up, Trichy Aerospace Private Limited, has come out with an electric engine that won’t get exposed to water and has the potential to run on solar power or battery.
Dr V Sivaraman, who nurtured the innovation, says his idea got a boost after the Tamil Nadu Centre for Advanced Manufacturing (Tancam) in collaboration with Dassault Systemes signed a memorandum with the Nagapattinam-based start-up.
“They will provide funds and help in design prototype,” says the innovator hoping that tourist boats could use the engine and cut down on fossil fuel. Ten months down the line, Tancam, which was inaugurated by Chief Minister M K Stalin, has been nurturing the ideas of start-ups to live their dreams. Innovations by start-ups like bio-digester, and unmanned ground vehicles are being handheld by the state.
From its inauguration till date, Tancam has been actively providing design solutions to about 54 companies, comprising 33 industries and 21 startups. A total of 42 MoUs including agreements with four industry associations have been signed.
Interestingly, there are two more centres of excellence that have been silently nurturing industries to prepare them for the fourth generation of Industrial Revolution. These include Tamil Nadu Smart and Advanced Manufacturing Centre (Tansam) in collaboration with Siemens and Tamil Nadu Advanced Manufacturing Centre of Excellence (Tamcoe) jointly with GE Aerospace.
Speaking to TNIE, Sukhpreet Singh, Tansam CEO, says the centre has been helping industries to make their products globally competitive. “We have helped a couple of firms by offering the solutions,” he says.
Tansam has trained 14,060 students in smart and advanced manufacturing through the flagship Naan Mudhalvan scheme. Tamcoe, which specialises in additive manufacturing of metal parts services, is in talks with large industries. It is on a roadmap to improve manufacturing readiness to supply aerospace and defence parts.
“In a year since their inauguration, all three centres have gained tremendous traction within the advanced manufacturing, Industry 4.0 and research and development community of the state. This demonstrates how close collaboration between industry, academia, and startups can accelerate sustainable and technologically advanced industrialisation,” said Industries Minister T R B Rajaa.