President Director of PT Gerlink Energi Nusantara Ghozalfan F Basarah (left) and ITS Chancellor Prof. Dr. Ir Mochamad Ashari MEng when showing the MoU text signed by both parties

ITS Campus, ITS News – Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) continues to be determined to improve people’s welfare by advancing technology in renewable energy. The evidence is the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ITS and PT Gerlink Energi Nusantara (GEN) on Friday (1/4) in the Leadership Meeting Room of the ITS Rectorate Building.

Previously, a meeting was held to discuss cooperation in research and innovation. The attendees from the ITS side are ITS Chancellor Prof. Dr. Ir Mochamad Ashari MEng, Deputy Chancellor II for Planning, Finance, and ITS Infrastructure, Ir Mas Agus Mardyanto ME PhD, Director of Business Cooperation and Management (DKPU) ITS Tri Joko Wahyudi ST MT PhD, along with other ITS leaders. From the PT GEN side, it was led directly by President Director Ghozalfan F Basarah and his staff.

During this occasion, ITS Chancellor, familiarly called Ashari, stated that ITS is ready to continue to cooperate with all manufacturing companies to conduct research or make the latest innovations in renewable energy. ITS has ten innovation research laboratories in the ITS Research Center (RC) Building and supports by five strategic study centers. “There are SDGs, regional and community empowerment, fast-paced technology, and creative industries,” he said.

Discussion and presentation on cooperation in the field of renewable energy by the President Director of PT Gerlink Energi Nusantara (GEN) Ghozalfan F Basarah (left) and ITS Chancellor Prof Dr Ir Mochamad Ashari MEng

This cooperation is considering the work area of ​​PT GEN which oversees Geotechnical, Medical, Energy, and Waste Management Systems. This collaboration hopes that both parties can meet the local manufacturing equipment demands of the institute. This innovation will also adjust to the requirements of the government to minimize imported manufacturing equipment at affordable prices for the community.

A lecturer from the Department of Physics Engineering in renewable energy also supports this statement. Dr. Ridho Hantoro ST MT stated that this research-innovation collaboration will focus on hydrokinetic energy, which has been carried out by ITS since 2019. This manufacturing research will be carried out at the Hydrokinetic Power Plant (PLTHK) with a floating technology mechanism composed of pontoon material, carbon fiber.

Furthermore, this PLTHK is based on pure and man-made river flows with adjustable water discharges and flows. In the hydrokinetic innovation that has been carried out by ITS previously, a power source of 9 kiloWatts (kW) has been obtained from three PLTHK turbine units. The power source is obtained from the speed of the water current of 1-3 meters per second. “With this collaboration, PT Gerlink (GEN) may increase the amount of electricity generated from each water turbine,” he hoped.

Meanwhile, from PT GEN, Ghozalfan welcomed the offer of innovation in renewable energy that focuses on hydrokinetics. He said this collaboration aims to use ITS Intellectual Property Rights (HaKI) registered both patents and copyrights innovations. “The innovations offered have also used Internet of Technology (IoT) technology,” he explained.

Furthermore, after seeing the hydrokinetic innovation in PLTHK, the latest Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulation has been used. Several agreements between ITS and PT GEN will also adjust to the consumer’s burden, so this innovation will not go to waste for not following the community’s needs.

Photo with ITS leaders with the delegation from PT Gerlink Energi Nusantara located in the Leadership Meeting Room (Rapim), ITS Rectorate Building

From the MoU meeting as well as discussions about this hydrokinetic concept, Ghozalfan and his team fully hope that ITS will continue to collaborate and work well for the benefit of the general public during the research and innovation process. “In the future, it can also expand into the medical field and waste processing into electrical energy,” he hoped. (ITS PR)

Reporter: Fauzan Fakhrizal Azmi

Translator : Hanifah Inayah