Critical minerals processing firm LOHUM Cleantech Pvt. Ltd has appointed 2010 Nobel Prize winner for physics Konstantin Novoselov to lead its research initiative in advanced materials and cleaner technology. According to reports from Mint, the scientist will helm LOHUM's new technology incubator, which will leverage the expertise of India's veteran engineers to lower the entry barrier for setting up industrial manufacturing projects. The focus of this engineering centre will be on developing 'products and processes' that will narrow the gap between positive lab results and converting them into scalable manufacturing projects.
The platform aims to advance materials science from early-stage research (TRL 1–4) to commercial readiness (TRL 7–8) through a structured approach. As reported by BusinessLine, LOHUM founder & CEO Rajat Verma explained that the path from laboratory discovery to market-ready product is where promising science often stalls, with early research frequently remaining within academic settings while commercial value is created only once technologies are demonstrably viable for industrial scaling. The platform will provide capital, infrastructure and strategic oversight, with LOHUM commercialising the resulting intellectual property and returns through a Central Funding Hub.
The engineering centre will run with 50-80 people and has a target of churning out five commercially viable technologies each year. As reported by Mint, Novoselov emphasized that blue-sky research needs to be funded one way or another, noting that the US used venture capital for research towards technological advancement, while China used government funding. He stated that every single technology that we see around us was a scientific project some time ago.
The focus sectors for the technology incubator are currently being assessed and will likely include strategic and critical minerals, nanomaterials and 2D structures, and advanced magnetic materials, among other emerging next-gen technologies. According to a LOHUM statement, the full list of focus sectors will be announced upon finalization by the incubation platform team. This expansion comes as LOHUM is expanding its ambit from just material recycling to manufacturing sintered rare-earth magnets and battery components such as cathode active material (CAM).
This development occurs as India's spending on research and development rose to 0.84% of gross domestic product (GDP) in FY24, from 0.64% in FY21, according to the department of science and technology's research and development statistics 2025-26. As reported by Mint, in comparison, China's was 2.80% in 2025, and the US' was 3.44% in 2024. Technological advancements related to strategic and critical minerals assume importance for India due to geopolitical uncertainties, as illustrated by China's 2025 export control order on rare-earth magnets, which disrupted manufacturing across the globe in sectors such as renewable energy, defence, electronics, and automobiles.
