Bangalore, November 15, 2014: Fraunhofer, Europe's largest applied research organization, today announced the 3rd edition of the Fraunhofer Innovation and Technology Platform 2014 (FIT) to be held on November 21st and 22nd at the Taj West End, Bangalore. The annual flagship event of Fraunhofer in India will focus on Energy Efficiency, Wind Energy, Solar Energy and Energy for Smart Cities, showcasing cutting edge technologies, innovations and solutions.

The event will provide opportunities to the delegates not just to exchange new ideas, but also to take it to the next level of establishing business or research relations. The event is expected to be attended by over 200 delegates from India and abroad, mostly by CEOs, CTOs, Innovation experts from Industry and Research as well as Government and a cross-section of researchers from Fraunhofer Institutes.

More than 25 eminent guest speakers representing various countries, organizations, Government officials, researchers will speak on a range of topical issues of Energy, Sustainability, and Smart Cities amongst others.

Ms Anandi Iyer, Director, Fraunhofer Office India said, "With energy continuing to remain a critical element in a nation's development, it is imperative that new techniques, new solutions, new ideas, and new research have to take the centre-stage to transform national development, while keeping in mind sustainability factors."

"India is struggling to produce enough power to meet the rising demands with about 400 million Indians having no access to electricity. There is a need for infusion of new thinking, new ideas etc and this event is an ideal platform to exchange information which can be transformational," added Ms Iyer.

She further said, "By bundling its competence in the energy field, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft aims to develop future-oriented and market competitive products on the system level for its customers, ensuring good investments. With the collective expertise of over 2,000 employees, the Fraunhofer Energy Alliance is one of Europe's largest Energy Research Organizations, doing research in Renewable Energy, Energy Efficient Technologies, Intelligent Energy Grids, Energy Storage, Buildings and Components, Mobility and Portability amongst others."

The 1st and 2nd FIT Platform held in 2012 focused on Mobility and Logistics and Sustainable Technologies for the City of the Future as the thematic areas respectively. Both the events were a great success and attended by leading high profile representatives from the Industry and Research organizations from India and Germany.

The 3rd FIT Platform will kick off on 21st November 2014 with a high profile panel discussion on the subject "Powering a Greener Future" and will be followed by a networking dinner and cultural performance. The second day, 22nd November will be devoted to technical sessions on the sub-thematic areas of Energy Efficiency, Wind Energy, Solar Energy and Energy for Smart Cities. It will close with a Concluding Plenary Session which will present the main outcomes of the deliberations of the two days and also showcase few technology solutions and models for India.

Some of the Key speakers include:

• Dr Gopichand Katragadda - Group CTO, TATA Sons
• Dr Anil Kakodkar - DAE Homi Bhabha Chair Professor, Baba Atomic Research Centre BARC and Member, Atomic Energy Commission AEC
• Prof Dr Eicke Weber - Director, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE
• Prof Dr. Andreas Hornung - Director, Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT
• Prof Dr Andreas Reuter - Managing Director, Nordwest, Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology IWES)
• Dr Leena Srivastava - Vice Chancellor, TERI University and Hony. Executive Director, The Energy and Resources Institute TERI, New Delhi
• Mrs Andrea Christ - Deputy Consul General, German Consulate Bangalore
• Dr Ajay Mathur - Director General, Bureau of Energy Efficiency BEE
• Mr Pashupathy Shankar Gopalan - President, SunEdison - Asia Pacific, and
• Mr Sanjay Chaudhary - Associate Vice President, Siemens.

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is the leading organisation for applied research in Europe. Its research activities are conducted by 67 institutes and research units at locations throughout Germany.