• CERAWeek
  • March 18 - 22, 2024

SSV Ramakumar

Indian Oil Corporation Limited

Director, Research & Development

Dr. SSV Ramakumar is Director, Research & Development, on the board of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IndianOil), a Fortune 500 company. Dr. Ramakumar has three decades of uninterrupted R&D experience in the downstream hydrocarbons sector, notably in the areas of lubricant technology; refinery process research streams, including catalyst development; and development, quality upgradation, and marketing coordination of automotive lubricants. He is instrumental in the development of India’s home-grown, OEM-approved marine lubricant technology, which catapulted Indian Oil’s SERVO lubes into the select league of five multinational oil companies. He spearheaded the complete indigenization of Indian Oil’s flagship residue upgradation technology by developing an in-house catalyst for the process. Dr. Ramakumar has to his credit over 135 research publications in peer-reviewed national and international journals and 45 patents. In addition to serving on the board of Indian Oil, Dr. Ramakumar is also on the boards of Oil Industry Development; Central Pollution Control, India; Society for Petroleum Laboratories; India Energy Forum; and, most recently, Lanzatech. He also presides over several national scientific societies, including International Council of Internal Combustion Engines, India Chapter; Indian Society of Fuels and Lubricants; National Lubrication Grease Institute, Indian Chapter; and Tribology Society of India. He also spearheads the Start-Up initiatives of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. In his long career, Dr. Ramakumar received many awards, including NPMP, FIPI, NRDC, AIIMA Innovation, Bangalore Nano, and most recently the World Petroleum Congress Excellence Award for Technologies he developed at Indian Oil. He holds a doctorate in chemistry from IIT-Roorkee (erstwhile University of Roorkee).

Sessions With SSV Ramakumar

Tuesday, 12 March

  • 09:15am - 10:00am (CST) / -

    Renaissance of Biofuels: Opportunities for scale

    Panel Climate/Environment/Sustainability Technology/Innovation

    Rising oil prices coupled with dire regulatory reports on global warming have reinvigorated interest in biofuels as a low carbon fuel. What is the status of second generation biofuels technology and the scaleup possibilities? Can biofuels be looked at as a mature technology option? How can biofuels targets be met, which appear more ambitious at the current pace of scale up? How do socio-political dimensions add to the value of biofuels as a cleaner fuel choice?

  • 10:30am - 11:15am (CST) / -

    The Quiet ICE Revolution: New tech driving new directions

    Panel Transportation/Mobility Technology/Innovation

    Although batteries and electric motors are expected to play a major role in the future, there is a wide spectrum of views on how fast the transition from Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) to EVs might be. New technological breakthroughs such as “homogeneous charge compression ignition” may improve ICE efficiency by 20-30%. How will these ICE improvements affect competitiveness with electric vehicles? Could cost parity be delayed by new technology and new business models? How will this impact the penetration of EV and the composition of the car fleet of the future?

Wednesday, 13 March