Bharat Ratna Prof. CNR Rao wins International Eni Award 2020, equivalent to Nobel in Energy Research.
The 86-year-old Prof. CNR Rao will receive this honour, which includes a cash prize and a specially minted gold medal, during an official ceremony at Quirinal Palace, Rome on 14 October 2021.
He is awarded for his research on renewable energy sources and energy storage. His work on metal oxides, carbon nanotubes and other materials and two-dimensional systems, including graphene, boron-nitrogen-carbon hybrid materials and molybdenum sulfide for energy applications and green hydrogen production. The same or related materials have also been shown to have beneficial properties for constructing hydrogen storage systems and supercapacitors with high specific power and an increased number of charge-discharge cycles. The latter are energy storage devices, similar to batteries, which will become an increasingly important part of the renewable energy sector.