Centres of Excellence
Engineering a Sustainable & Circular Future
Atria University’s Centres of Excellence (CoEs) form the research backbone of our Living Laboratory ecosystem. Designed as interdisciplinary engines of innovation, they bring together scientists, engineers, domain experts, industry leaders, policymakers, and students to solve India’s most critical challenges across energy, climate, health, mobility, ecology, and digital infrastructure.
Each CoE is built on the belief that breakthroughs happen at the intersections—where climate science meets AI, where molecular biology meets materials engineering, where decentralized technologies transform environmental stewardship, and where mobility systems align with clean-energy transitions.
The "Living Lab" for India
India stands at a pivotal moment—tasked with securing food, water, and energy for a growing population while building resilience against an accelerating climate crisis. Solving these grand challenges with the old, siloed approach to research—where biologists, data scientists, and engineers work in isolation—is no longer sufficient.
The future demands a new model.
Atria University’s Centres of Excellence (CoEs) are that new model. Our university is a microcosm of India's future. We believe the most effective way to solve a complex national challenge is to first build and validate the solution at home.
- Our buildings are not just structures; they are nodes in an Agentic Microgrid.
- Our Life Science labs are not just for research; they are AI-powered bio-foundries.
- Our landscape is not just for aesthetics; it is a testbed for climate-resilient food forests.
We are pioneering the convergence of AI and foundational science. We use AI as a tool for accelerated discovery and as an "agentic" nervous system to manage complex systems. This fusion allows us to move from theory to high-impact, scalable systems that can be deployed nationwide.
Our singular mission is to engineer a sustainable and circular future, securing India's Energy, Food, and Water independence.
Here, AI is not an add-on—it is the accelerator that powers discovery, design, optimisation, and deployment across our scientific and engineering pipelines.
Impact-Driven Work Advancing the UN SDGs
Atria University’s Centres of Excellence directly advance India’s national missions while strongly aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our work spans a wide SDG spectrum—from Clean Energy (SDG 7), Climate Action (SDG 13), Sustainable Cities (SDG 11), Water Security (SDG 6), and Life on Land (SDG 15) to Zero Hunger & Food Security (SDG 2), and Responsible Consumption & Production (SDG 12).
As an academic institution, we also uphold Quality Education (SDG 4) by integrating research, innovation, and AI-enabled learning into every programme, building the next generation of scientists, engineers, founders, and policymakers.
Across our ecosystem, AU advances Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure (SDG 9) through work in smart grids, synthetic biology, digital public infrastructure, battery engineering, eMobility, IoT, and decentralized systems. Our research model, rooted in collaboration with government bodies, national missions, and global institutions, also strengthens Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17).
Together, these SDGs form the backbone of AU’s mission: engineering a sustainable, circular, and climate-resilient future for India and the world.
Our Pillars of Innovation
Our research is engineered with intent, not isolation. Every flagship project is a pillar of our Living Lab, purpose-built to advance India’s sustainability and resilience goals through scalable, high-impact innovation.Pillar 1: Powering the Green Bio-Economy (Food & Climate)
We are using AI and biology to create a sustainable, bio-based economy that heals the planet.- For a Greener Economy — SynBioAI: Our AI-powered synthetic biology “bio-foundry” accelerates microbe design for biomining, advanced biofuels, and biofertilizers, supporting India’s National Biotechnology (BioE3) mission and powering a new green industrial revolution.
- For Food Security — EcoFertility: We are healing our land from the ground up by fusing deep ecology with data to create multilayer food forests. We are building a scalable model for climate-resilient agriculture that increases farmer income and restores soil biodiversity.
- For Climate Resilience — Hyperlocal Weather: We are creating the intelligence layer for national resilience by combining AI models with global foundation systems like AlphaEarth to deliver high-resolution forecasts that de-risk agriculture, secure crop insurance, and protect infrastructure from climate shocks.
Pillar 2: Engineering the Secure & Circular Grid (Water & Energy)
We are building the core hardware and software for India's resource independence.- For Smart Grids — Agentic Campus Microgrid: We are writing the open-source rulebook for India's future decentralized, resilient power grids.Our campus microgrid is a real-world testbed for AI agents that manage solar, batteries, and EV charging, forming the nervous system of future decentralized and resilient power grids.
- For Water Security — ECD+ Sustainability is not a cost but a source of value. Our electrochemical desalination project is energy-positive, transforming a liability (seawater) into two critical assets: fresh water and clean energy, demonstrating the circular economy in action.
- For Energy Independence — Sodium Solid-State Batteries: We’re designing the engine of India’s future grid: an anode-less solid-state Sodium battery that cuts dependence on scarce Lithium and advances true Atmanirbhar Bharat in energy storage.
What We Do
CoEs are not just academic units—they are impact accelerators. They facilitate:
- Applied research that transitions rapidly from lab to deployment
- Joint development with government agencies, national missions, and global partners
- Technology translation for industry and public-good use cases
- Innovation pathways for startups and sustainability-driven ventures
- Field testbeds that validate solutions in real-world conditions
- Training ecosystems for the next generation of researchers, engineers, and scientific leaders
- AI-enhanced educational tools that support curriculum design, digital learning, and institutional transformation
What Makes Us Different
National Convergence Hub for AI + Science
We are not just an "AI University" or a "Biotech University." We are the hub where these fields converge. We are the answer to the question, "Where does AI meet deep science to solve real-world problems?"
"Living Laboratory" Deployer
While others publish, we deploy. Our campus-as-a-testbed approach makes us the preferred partner for government and industry to validate and scale new technologies, from smart grids to bio-fertilizers.
National Mission Accelerator
Our projects are not academic exercises; they are direct accelerators for India's most critical missions—Atmanirbhar Bharat, the National Bioeconomy (BioE3) Mission, the Smart Cities Mission, and the National Green Hydrogen Mission.
Premier Talent Pipeline
We are not training just "data scientists" or "biologists." We are training the next generation of AI-Native Scientists and Engineers—the "Fifth Paradigm" workforce who are fluent in both their core domain and in AI, ready to lead India's sustainable future.
