Schaeffler India Expands IISc Research Collaboration With Advanced Computational Facility

Schaeffler India has established a computational research facility at the Foundation for Science Innovation and Development (FSID) located within the campus of the India-based Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. The facility was announced on May 13, 2026, and has been funded through Schaeffler India’s CSR initiative known as HOPE. The centre is intended to strengthen capabilities in large-scale simulations, advanced analytics, and data-intensive modelling for research areas including sustainable mobility, materials science, and energy systems.

In parallel with the infrastructure deployment, Schaeffler India signed a Master Research Agreement (MRA) with IISc to create a formal framework for future collaborative research programmes. The agreement is expected to transition the engagement between the company and the institution from individual project-based interactions to a long-term strategic research partnership. Both organizations indicated that multiple collaborative projects are already aligned for execution under the newly established structure.

The facility includes dedicated laboratory space equipped with in-rack cooling systems, backup power infrastructure, and high-performance hybrid computing clusters and workstations. The long-term development objective is to build a computational system capable of delivering nearly 32 petaflops of peak performance through a combined CPU and GPU architecture. Such computing capability would position the facility among the more advanced academic computing environments in the country, enabling complex simulations and computational modelling workloads that generally require access to large-scale national or international supercomputing infrastructure.

The computational infrastructure will be accessible to IISc faculty members, undergraduate and postgraduate students, PhD researchers, postdoctoral scholars, FSID-incubated startups, and industry partners participating in joint R&D programmes. MSMEs and external startups seeking access to advanced digital research infrastructure will also be eligible to use the facility. This broader access model is expected to extend the impact of the investment beyond the academic ecosystem and support innovation-oriented industrial collaboration.

Harsha Kadam, Managing Director and CEO of Schaeffler India, said the initiative aligns with the company’s broader strategy focused on manufacturing excellence and research capability development in India. He stated that stronger academia-industry partnerships are essential for equipping researchers with advanced tools and technical expertise. Kadam also noted that Schaeffler India and IISc already have a pipeline of collaborative research projects prepared for implementation through coordinated technical teams.

Sai Gautam Gopalakrishnan, Associate Professor of Materials Engineering at IISc, stated that the facility would support research groups, incubated startups, and industry collaborators working within the FSID ecosystem. He described the initiative as an important step toward accelerating research digitalization, automation, and advanced computational capabilities. According to him, the collaboration is expected to expand long-term engagement opportunities between IISc and Schaeffler India across multiple technology domains.

Prof. B. Gurumoorthy, Director of FSID, described the partnership as an important milestone for strengthening the foundation’s research support capabilities. He stated that the collaboration would enhance FSID’s capacity in high-end simulations, next-generation technology development, and data-intensive scientific research. Gurumoorthy also emphasized that such industry-academia collaborations can help create research outcomes with practical industrial applications and long-term technological value.

FSID functions as the primary interface connecting IISc with external research organizations and industry partners. The foundation supports collaborative projects, startup incubation activities, and research partnership management across multiple sectors such as manufacturing, energy, and technology. In recent years, its role has expanded significantly as IISc has increased its focus on industrial engagement and applied research collaboration initiatives.

The investment also reflects a wider trend within Indian higher education, where private companies are increasingly directing CSR funding toward advanced research infrastructure development instead of limiting contributions to traditional social welfare initiatives. For institutions such as IISc, industry-backed investments can accelerate access to advanced research capabilities that may otherwise require extended public procurement timelines and government budget approvals.

IISc and Schaeffler India Operational Footprint

The following table highlights key operational and institutional details related to IISc and Schaeffler India.

Schaeffler India currently operates manufacturing plants located in Talegaon, Savli, Maneja, Hosur, and Shoolagiri, alongside multiple R&D centres and sales offices across the country. The company has maintained operations in India for more than six decades and employs over 3,800 people. Its parent organization, Schaeffler Group, headquartered in Germany, has been operating for around 80 years and maintains a global footprint spanning more than 250 locations across 55 countries. The group’s portfolio includes bearing solutions, electric mobility technologies, linear guidance systems, and industrial monitoring and repair services.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of the new Schaeffler India computational research facility at IISc?
The new facility has been established to support advanced computational research and high-performance simulations across multiple scientific and engineering domains. It is designed to strengthen research in sustainable mobility, materials science, energy systems, and data-intensive analytics through access to advanced hybrid computing infrastructure. The initiative also aims to encourage deeper collaboration between academia, startups, MSMEs, and industry partners while enabling researchers to perform large-scale simulations that traditionally required national or international supercomputing resources.

What infrastructure capabilities will the IISc computational facility provide?
The facility will provide advanced hybrid computing clusters, high-performance workstations, dedicated laboratory space, power backup systems, and in-rack cooling infrastructure. Its long-term target is to achieve nearly 32 petaflops of computational performance using combined CPU and GPU architecture. These capabilities are expected to support complex modelling, automation-driven research, digital simulations, and advanced analytics across academic and industrial R&D programmes, benefiting researchers, startups, and collaborative innovation projects operating within the IISc and FSID ecosystem.