This Mumbai University lab is quietly leading India's Green Hydrogen push

A research laboratory at Mumbai University's Department of Physics has quietly built an impressive body of work in green hydrogen and clean energy technologies, positioning itself among the country's more prolific academic centres in the sector.

Green Hydrogen Research Gains Momentum At Mumbai University

The Advanced Materials and Energy Research Laboratory, housed within the Department of Physics, has been steadily expanding its footprint in areas such as green hydrogen generation, next-generation supercapacitors and materials designed for efficient energy conversion and storage. The university has confirmed that the facility produced 25 research papers in 2025 alone, with 20 more already out in 2026, pushing its cumulative tally of publications in internationally reputed journals to 155.

The timing is notable. With nations worldwide under pressure to curb greenhouse gas emissions and wean their economies off fossil fuels, green hydrogen and advanced storage solutions have come to be seen as central to the evolution of the global energy system over the coming decades.

Inside The Laboratory's Research Focus

The laboratory operates under the direction of Dr Pradeep B. Sarawade, whose team is working across several interlinked domains: electrocatalytic water splitting for green hydrogen production, high-performance supercapacitors, heterostructure engineering, nanomaterials derived from biomass, defect engineering and computational approaches to materials design, according to a report by Free Press Journal.

Among the researchers contributing to this work is Senior Research Fellow Dr Tajala Magare, who is engaged in a project under the NRF-PAIR collaboration with IIT Bombay. His research centres on electrocatalytic water splitting, supercapacitors and heterostructure engineering, with a particular emphasis on developing energy materials that are inexpensive, efficient and durable enough to replace costlier precious-metal alternatives.

International Collaborations Strengthen The Lab's Global Standing

The Mumbai University Physics laboratory's reach extends well beyond Mumbai. It has forged research partnerships with a number of overseas institutions, among them the University of Southern Denmark, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, the University of Jeddah, and Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.

That international dimension is also visible in the composition of its student body. According to the university, researchers from Fiji, Uganda, and Nigeria are currently based at the facility, alongside scholars from universities across India, making it a training ground for early-career energy researchers from diverse backgrounds.

Findings Published Across High-Impact Journals

Work emerging from the laboratory has found space in a range of well-regarded international journals, including the Chemical Engineering Journal, Coordination Chemistry Reviews, Journal of Materials Chemistry, Journal of Energy Storage, Journal of Power Sources, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, and Sustainable Energy & Fuels.

Vision Aligned With National And Global Climate Goals

Dr Sarawade credited the laboratory's progress to what he described as a research-friendly environment at Mumbai University, along with support from Vice-Chancellor Prof. Ravindra Kulkarni, the FPJ report noted. He noted that the laboratory's focus on green hydrogen and sustainable technologies dovetails with India's National Green Hydrogen Mission and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, adding that the work is likely to feed into the broader development of next-generation energy technologies in the years ahead.