Sl. No.

Major Thrust Area

Key R&D Coverage

1

Flexible Operation of Hydro Turbines

Expansion of safe and efficient operating range; operation under part-load, rapid ramping and off-design conditions.

2

Mitigation of Rough Operating Zones

Hydraulic instability, vibration, pressure pulsation, fatigue and mitigation of rough operating regions.

3

Reduction of Minimum Stable Operating Load

Turbine and control optimisation to enable lower stable generation for grid balancing.

4

Variable-Speed Hydro and Pumped Storage Systems

Variable-speed generators, power converters, control and optimisation of pumping/generating modes.

5

Advanced Pumped Storage Technologies

New configurations, system optimisation, flexible operation and integration of PSPs with variable renewable energy.

6

Hydrokinetic Turbines and River/Canal Energy Systems

Indigenous hydrokinetic turbine design; low-head/free-stream energy conversion; turbine–resource matching; performance, reliability and integration with storage/other renewables.

7

Multi-Source Renewable Integration with Pumped Storage

Synergistic optimisation of hydrokinetic, floating PV, offshore/onshore renewables and PSPs.

8

Cavitation and Hydraulic Instability Mitigation

Cavitation, vortex phenomena, pressure fluctuations and optimisation of turbine hydraulic performance.

9

Silt Erosion and Sediment Management

Silt-resistant designs/materials; desilting; sediment interaction with turbines and life assessment.

10

Advanced Anti-Corrosion/Anti-Acidic Materials

Materials and coatings for underwater components exposed to low-pH/aggressive water environments.

11

Advanced Hydro Turbine Design and Optimisation

CFD-based design; runner optimisation; efficiency improvement and advanced hydraulic machinery.

12

Transient Behaviour of Hydro Units

Start-up, shutdown, load rejection, runaway, water hammer and dynamic loading.

13

Digital Monitoring and Predictive Maintenance

Online condition monitoring, digital twins, AI/ML analytics and remaining-life assessment.

14

Hydrological Forecasting and Generation Planning

Weather/inflow forecasting, GIS/remote sensing and improved reservoir/generation scheduling.

15

Cascade and Reservoir System Optimisation

Coordinated operation of multiple hydro stations and basin-level optimisation.

16

Climate-Resilient Hydro Infrastructure

Floods, sediment changes, extreme rainfall, water chemistry and climate-induced operational risks.

17

Advanced Construction and Underground Technologies

Tunnels, caverns, foundations, rock stabilisation and construction in difficult geological conditions.

Sl. No.

Major Thrust Area

Key R&D Coverage

1

EHV/UHV Multi-Circuit Transmission Lines and Towers

Indigenous design of multi-circuit transmission towers/lines; compact geometry; electrical and mechanical optimisation; reduced RoW; tower loading; clearances; EMF/corona; reliability and constructability.

2

Compact and Reduced-RoW Transmission Systems

Compact towers, narrow corridors, optimised conductor arrangements and solutions for urban/forest/right-of-way constrained locations.

3

High-Capacity and Advanced Conductors

HTLS and new conductor materials; uprating existing corridors; thermal/mechanical performance and ageing.

4

Dynamic Line Loading / Rating

Real-time line ampacity; weather and sensor-based loading; thermal models and adaptive operation.

5

HVDC Transmission Technologies

LCC/VSC HVDC; converter systems; controls, protection and indigenous component development.

6

Multi-Terminal and Advanced DC Transmission

Multi-terminal HVDC architecture; coordination, controls, DC protection and interoperability.

7

UHVAC Technologies

High-voltage equipment, insulation coordination and system design for UHV transmission.

8

FACTS and Dynamic Grid-Support Equipment

STATCOM, SVC and other reactive-power/flexible-transmission technologies.

9

EHV Underground and Submarine Cable Systems

Cable systems, accessories, diagnostics and technologies for difficult terrain and offshore RE evacuation.

10

Advanced Substations

GIS, hybrid AIS/GIS, compact substations and advanced electrical installations.

11

Digital Substations

IEC 61850 process bus; digital protection/control; optical sensors; interoperability and cyber-secure architecture.

12

Advanced Insulation and Bushings

RIP/RIS bushings, coatings, hydrophobic surfaces, insulation ageing and fire-safe designs.

13

Environment-Friendly Insulation Technologies

Alternatives to conventional high-GWP insulating gases and sustainable dielectric materials.

14

Transformer and Reactor Life Management

Condition assessment, diagnostics, health indexing, failure analysis and residual-life estimation.

15

Transmission-Line and Substation Robotics

Autonomous robots, UAVs, machine vision and AI-based inspection.

16

GIS, Remote Sensing and Spatial Decision Support

Route alignment, asset mapping, vegetation monitoring, disaster vulnerability and geospatial analytics.

17

Advanced Asset Monitoring and Predictive Maintenance

AI/ML analytics, health assessment, image processing and real-time condition monitoring.

18

Fault Current Limiting Technologies

Advanced fault-current limiters and associated system integration.

19

Transmission System Resilience

Technologies for cyclone, flood, snow, avalanche, landslide and other extreme conditions.

20

Advanced Testing, Simulation and HIL for Transmission

Real-time simulation of HVDC/FACTS/protection; PMU/WAMS validation and digital-substation testbeds.

21

EMF, Corona and Environmental Performance

Electromagnetic field, corona, audible noise and environmental performance of EHV/UHV lines.