Centre for Sustainable Technologies, IISc

What Centre for Sustainable Technologies, IISc does

The Centre for Sustainable Technologies (CST) is an interdisciplinary research and technology development center within the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru, originally established in 1974 as the Centre for ASTRA (Application of Science and Technology for Rural Areas). It conducts applied research targeting sustainable solutions across four primary domains: energy, buildings, water, and environment, with a stated emphasis on technologies tailored to local resource availability and habitation conditions in India. The center operates through seven specialized research laboratories: the Plasma Lab (plasma technology and waste-to-energy), SuDesi – Sustainability and Design Lab (architecture, buildings, product design and manufacturing), the Material Engineering Research Innovation and Application Lab (low-carbon and bio-based building materials, additive manufacturing), the Hydroloop & Turbomachinery Lab (renewable energy turbomachinery), SuPaani – Sustainable Water Lab (biofilm reactors, greywater, landfill leachate, membrane technologies, nitrification, micropollutants, saline effluents), S3 – Sustainable Separation Solutions Laboratory (membrane separations), and the NavCat Catalysis Lab (catalyst development, transient kinetics, rapid spectroscopy, biomass conversions, waste recycling). Core faculty include 7 professors/associate/assistant professors supported by associate, adjunct, and senior scientific officers with cross-departmental affiliations at IISc.

CST's outputs are academic rather than commercial. The center offers M.Tech and PhD programs, publishes extensively in peer-reviewed journals and conferences, and engages in sponsored research collaborations with government agencies (UGC, DST, IUSSTF, ANRF, NWO, Ministry of Education) and industrial partners (BHEL on Building Integrated Photovoltaics; Boeing on Sustainable Manufacturing; Robert Bosch Centre for Cyber Physical Systems on PV efficiency; Unilever via adjunct faculty). Notable student and faculty awards include the Gandhian Young Technology Innovation Appreciation 2024, NDTV Indian of the Year Award 2025, Lexus Design Award 2019, and BSA Conference 2022 Student Competition Award. The center celebrated its Golden Jubilee in July 2024 with a Sustainability Summit and continues to onboard postdoctoral fellows and engage students in industry hackathons (e.g., NCCBM Cement Hackathon 2025 top-4 finish). CST does not sell products, charge for services, or generate commercial revenue; it is funded entirely through institutional support, government grants, and sponsored research projects, operating as a cost center within the publicly funded IISc.

Name

Centre for Sustainable Technologies, IISc

Legal name

Centre for Sustainable Technologies (CST), Indian Institute of Science

Website

https://cst.iisc.ac.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Centre for Sustainable Technologies (CST) is an IISc Bengaluru interdisciplinary research center, founded 1974, operating seven labs across sustainable energy, buildings, water, and environment, serving government, academia, and industry partners through grant-funded research.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Technology Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Solar Quality, Testing, Certification & Standards (Lab Testing, Inspections, Compliance) (EUAMABAN)

Keywords

• Sustainable technology research
• Interdisciplinary research center
• Renewable energy systems
• Wastewater treatment research
• Low-carbon building materials

Headquarters

HQ city

Bengaluru

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Centre for Sustainable Technologies (CST) is an interdisciplinary research and technology development center at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) that conducts fundamental and applied research in sustainable technologies across energy, buildings, water, and environment. It operates seven specialized research labs covering plasma technology, catalysis, turbomachinery, building materials, water treatment, membrane separations, and sustainability science, and delivers graduate-level academic instruction and supervised research training.

Product overview

The Centre for Sustainable Technologies (CST) at IISc is an interdisciplinary research and technology development center established in 1974 as Centre for ASTRA, providing sustainable solutions primarily in energy, buildings, water, and environment. The center operates through multiple specialized research labs including the Plasma Lab (plasma technology, waste-to-energy), Sustainability and Design Lab/SuDesi (sustainability science, architecture, buildings, product design), Material Engineering Research Lab (low-carbon materials, additive manufacturing), Hydroloop & Turbomachinery Lab (renewable energy systems), and research groups focused on water treatment (biofilm reactors, membrane technologies) and sustainable separations. The center offers academic courses in sustainable energy, environmental management, GIS, and turbomachinery, and publishes extensively in journals and conferences on sustainable technologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SuDesi – Sustainability and Design Lab: Research lab focused on Sustainability Science, architecture/buildings, product design and manufacturing.
• Sustainable Water Lab (SuPaani Lab)
• Sustainable Separation Solutions Laboratory (S3)
• Material Engineering Research Innovation and Application Lab
• Plasma Lab
• Hydroloop & Turbomachinery Lab
• Catalysis (NavCat Lab)

Products and services

• Plasma Technology and Waste-to-Energy Research Research program on plasma technology applications and waste-to-energy conversion processes for sustainable energy solutions, operated through the Plasma Lab led by Dr. Lakshminarayana Rao.
• Sustainability Science: Architecture, Buildings, Product Design and Manufacturing

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UK-India Education & Research Initiative (UKIERI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Collaborative research on developing earth-based building products utilizing solid wastes, working with University Grants Commission (UGC), India and UKIERI from 2017-2019
• EarthWatch Institute IndiaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on 'EnSure - Promoting and Ensuring (Biodiversity) Resource Conservation and Livelihood Sustainability in Rural Villages at Sirsi, Karnataka' from 2015-2016
• Robert Bosch Centre for Cyber Physical Systems (RBCCPS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudies on impact of dust and PV temperature on PV system efficiency in tropical regions (2012-2014). RBCCPS is an independent centre at IISc established with grant from Robert Bosch, Germany
• Delft University of Technology / Netherlands Organization for Scientific ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch on 'Technology and Human Development: A Capability Approach' funded by The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (2010-2014)
• BHEL-IISc Joint Research ProgrammecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBHEL-IISc joint research programme on Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) for developing solar energy integration in buildings
• Boeing-IISc Joint ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoeing-IISc joint project on Sustainable Manufacturing with Prof. Amaresh Chakrabarti

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay): Indian academic peer institution with strong energy, environment, and sustainability research (e.g., the Tata Centre for Technology and Design). Competes with CST in the same Indian academic and grant ecosystem for talent and sponsored projects.
• The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI): India's flagship sustainability and clean-energy research institute. Directly comparable to CST as a national, multi-disciplinary research body working on energy, environment, and resource efficiency with government and industry funding.
• Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi): Another top-tier Indian public academic institution with established centres in renewable energy, energy studies, and sustainable development. A direct peer within India competing for faculty, students, and ministry-funded sustainability research.
• Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras): Premier Indian public academic institution with active research in energy, water, sustainable materials, and climate-responsive design. Directly competes with CST for faculty, doctoral students, and national grant funding in sustainable-technology domains.

Broad incumbents

• Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO): Australia's national science agency with extensive low-carbon energy, hydrogen, and sustainable-materials programmes. Comparable in being a publicly-funded multi-disciplinary research body tackling sustainability challenges, but materially larger and more diversified than CST.
• Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR): India's largest publicly-funded R&D network spanning 38 labs including work in materials, energy, and environmental science. Much larger and broader in scope than CST, but the closest analogue in mission and funding model within India.

Regional players

• National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL): US Department of Energy national lab dedicated to renewable energy and energy-efficiency R&D. Highly comparable mission and lab-based research structure to CST, but primarily serves the United States rather than India.
• Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE): Germany's leading applied research institute for solar energy, building energy, and hydrogen. Comparable to CST's solar PV, building-integrated photovoltaics, and turbomachinery for renewable energy work, though based in Europe.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centre-for-sustainable-technologies-iisc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Centre for Sustainable Technologies, IISc