New Delhi, March 26: In a significant step towards strengthening India’s capabilities in critical minerals and sustainable industrial technologies, Simon India Limited (SIL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CSIR – National Metallurgical Laboratory (CSIR-NML), Jamshedpur, to collaborate on the development and commercialization of technologies for extraction of rare earth elements from industrial waste streams.
This collaboration brings together CSIR-NML’s advanced research capabilities with Simon India’s engineering and project execution expertise to bridge a critical gap in the innovation lifecycle, enabling the transition of technologies from laboratory and pilot stages (TRL 6) to scalable industrial implementation.
Rare earth elements are essential for a wide range of strategic sectors including clean energy, electronics, mobility, and advanced manufacturing. However, global supply chains remain concentrated, making indigenous capability development a national priority. This partnership aims to address this challenge by developing and scaling technologies for efficient extraction and recovery of rare earths from secondary resources and industrial waste.
While CSIR-NML has developed strong scientific capabilities in process innovation and validation, Simon India’s core strength lies in translating such technologies into engineering solutions at scale including Basic Design Engineering Package (BDEP) and Detailed Engineering (DEP) levels. This positions Simon India uniquely to enable faster commercialization and industrial deployment of indigenous technologies.
The collaboration will focus on joint R&D, pilot-scale validation, process optimization, and eventual scale-up, supported by a structured governance framework through a Joint Steering Committee. It will also include capacity building, industry – academia collaboration, and opportunities for technology transfer and intellectual property development.
Mr. Athar Shahab, Chairman, Simon India Limited, said: “India’s journey towards technological self-reliance will depend on our ability to not just innovate, but to industrialize innovation. This collaboration reflects our commitment to building strong partnerships that can take indigenous technologies from the lab to large-scale deployment, particularly in critical areas such as rare earths and sustainable materials.”
Mr. Aashutosh Aggarwal, CEO, Simon India Limited, said: “At Simon India, we see ourselves as an enabler of technology commercialization. Our engineering capabilities allow us to convert proven research into scalable industrial solutions. This partnership with CSIR-NML strengthens that capability, especially in emerging domains such as rare earth recovery, where India has a significant opportunity to build global competitiveness.”
Dr. Sandip Ghosh Chowdhury, Director & Head AAC, CSIR-NML, said: “CSIR-NML has been working on advanced processes for extraction and recovery of critical materials. Partnering with Simon India enables us to take these technologies beyond the laboratory and pilot stages towards industrial implementation, creating real impact for the industry and the country.”
The MoU also provides a framework for joint intellectual property development, with defined pathways for ownership, licensing, and commercialization of technologies developed through the collaboration, supporting the creation of proprietary, India-owned technology platforms.
With a validity of five years, the agreement underscores a long-term commitment to advancing sustainable industrial processes, circular economy solutions, and strategic resource security for India.
This collaboration marks a significant step in positioning India not only as a developer of advanced technologies, but also as a global player in their commercialization and deployment.
