Archive · 7 Aug 2026
MAHE and GHCL Partner to Develop AI-Enabled Fuel Quality Monitoring
A university in India and a big chemical company have decided to work together on a new project.
The university is called MAHE and the company is called GHCL.
They want to build a smart machine that uses lasers to check the quality of fuel.
The machine uses special light technology called spectroscopy and computer smarts called artificial intelligence.
When factories burn fuel to make energy, the quality of the fuel matters a lot.
Right now, checking fuel quality takes a long time because samples have to be sent to a laboratory.
The new machine would check the fuel right away, on the spot.
This would help the company save money and run its factory more smoothly.
Other companies that use fuel might also be able to use this machine one day.
This project shows how schools and companies can work well together.
MAHE and GHCL Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop a Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS)-based fuel quality monitoring solution.
The system combines spectroscopy with artificial intelligence and machine learning to monitor the Gross Calorific Value (GCV) of carbon-based fuels in real time.
The initiative aims to replace conventional, time-intensive laboratory fuel-testing methods with rapid, on-site, data-driven assessment.
Dr Unnikrishnan V. K. of Manipal Institute of Applied Physics leads the project as Principal Investigator on behalf of MAHE.
The collaboration aims to generate intellectual property and scalable technology with commercial potential for energy-intensive industries.
- Who
- Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) and GHCL Limited.
- What
- Signed an MoU to develop an AI-enabled, LIBS-based real-time system for monitoring the Gross Calorific Value of carbon-based fuels.
- When
- Announced on August 7.
- Where
- Manipal, Karnataka, India.
- Why
- To replace slow laboratory-based fuel testing with rapid on-site monitoring, improving operational efficiency, quality assurance, and cost competitiveness.
- Partners
- Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) and GHCL Limited
- Technology
- Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) combined with AI and machine learning
- Objective
- Real-time monitoring of Gross Calorific Value (GCV) of carbon-based fuels
- Announcement date
- August 7
- MoU exchanged by
- Sanjay Gupta (GHCL VP Commercial) and Dr P. Giridhar Kini (MAHE Registrar)
- Principal Investigator
- Dr Unnikrishnan V. K., Manipal Institute of Applied Physics
- GHCL soda ash plant
- Sutrapada, Gujarat, with 1.2 million tons per annum capacity
- Expected outcome
- Intellectual property and scalable technology with commercial potential