Vikram Handa-led Epsilon group in collaboration with Tufts University will launch a new research institute at the School of Engineering at Tufts focused on materials science and engineering with a $11.5 million sponsorship.
The Tufts Epsilon Materials Institute will work towards advanced innovations in battery materials that address global challenges in energy and sustainability, according to a company press release. By promoting collaboration between academia and industry, the Institute will contribute to a more sustainable and circular economy for various sectors.
Tufts Epsilon Materials Institute will collaborate with different departments and multi-disciplinary centers and institutes within Tufts, including Tufts Institute for AI (TIAI), as well as industry partners, to solve real-world problems.
“The establishment of the Tufts Epsilon Materials Institute is a proud moment for me as a Tufts alumnus which is a significant step towards our mission to drive sustainable innovation,” said Handa.
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“This collaboration strengthens our commitment to R&D in high-performance battery materials, supporting the growing demand for sustainable energy solutions in the U.S. Our investment in North Carolina for a 60,000 tons graphite anode facility will help build a robust supply chain by innovating in advanced materials and enhancing material circularity. This collaboration between academia and industry will address the global energy challenges we face today.”
“Epsilon’s focus on sustainability aligns with the university’s commitment to clean energy solutions,” said Tufts University President Sunil Kumar. “Creating impactful solutions for today’s energy challenges requires a purposeful, collective vision and dedicated researchers to realize that vision,” he said. “This new institute will help us achieve those goals and chart a course for future growth and impact. Together we will translate academic research into immediate, tangible, commercial applications that will power new directions in the energy industry.”
The sponsorship funds three new faculty positions at the School of Engineering and establishes seed funding to support future collaborations that focus on developing cleaner, safer, and more sustainable energy solutions.
The institute reflects the vision of Handa, whose Epsilon Group is a leading industrial conglomerate driving innovation in the carbon black and in sustainable, high-performance advanced battery materials that power electric vehicles and energy storage systems, according to a Tufts release.
Handa’s enthusiasm for Tufts is grounded in his “very fulfilling” undergraduate experience as a computer engineering student. While far from his family in India, he found at Tufts a close and supportive community.
“I have fond memories of being a freshman at South Hall [now Harleston Hall] and making connections during international orientation, some of whom became friends for life,” he said. “By making friends from all over the world, I had the opportunity to learn about global cultures as well, and that’s been both personally and professionally very rewarding.”
Handa recalled interactions with Tufts professors that were “very engaging. I owe them a debt of gratitude for helping me build my foundation for the years ahead.”
The seed of an idea for industry-academia collaboration was planted in February 2020 when Handa attended an event at Tufts in which he and other alumni spoke with students. “I was amazed to see how strong Tufts had become in bioengineering,” he said.
Since then, in conversations with faculty, he realized how Tufts’ approach on materials could help achieve clean energy goals. “It became clear that the innovative research going on at the School of Engineering would be a great foundation for the institute to develop breakthrough technologies for the future.”
Handa’s career has followed an upward trajectory of its own as he has driven innovations in the carbon black and battery materials industry. The industry includes the production, processing, and application of carbon black, which plays an instrumental role in elevating the performance of lithium-ion batteries.
In 2010, Handa founded the industrial conglomerate Epsilon Group. Its subsidiaries include Epsilon Carbon and Epsilon Advanced Materials, which he founded in 2018 to meet the growing need for more sustainable approaches to the production of battery anode and cathode materials.
A truly effective clean energy transition depends on tackling complex questions related to materials science, such as how to improve clean energy storage and delivery and how to reduce the environmental impact of industrial and household goods, from manufacturing through disposal. Now, solving those and other challenges will be among the top priorities of the Tufts Epsilon Materials Institute, Handa said.