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Calling India’s Brightest Minds!

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About the Event

HPCL-Mittal Energy Limited (HMEL) invites the brightest minds to bring fresh thinking, bold ideas, and cutting-edge technology to solve some of the most pressing energy and sustainability challenges of our time.

This is your opportunity to think beyond the classroom, innovate with purpose, and contribute to a brighter, greener future.

Participation Details

Entries

Up to 2 original ideas per Team

Abstract

Keep it concise (300-350 words) — visuals not included

Theme

Make sure your ideas align with the contest themes

Submission

Only via our official portal

Deadline

Late or incomplete submissions will not be accepted

Eligibility Criteria

Who's Eligible?

UG,PG & P.hD students from recognised institutions.

Make a Team

all are from the same institute

What to keep in mind

Interdisciplinary groups encouraged!

Themes

Craft your solutions with the chosen themes in mind, demonstrating both creativity and relevance to the problem statements.

Refinery and petrochemical integration
  • Crude-to-chemicals configurations
  • FCC-aromatic-steam-cracker network optimization
  • Modular brownfield integration and debottlenecking
  • Flexible feed and product-slate management
Bottom-of-the-barrel and heavy-feed upgrading
  • Residue hydro conversion and slurry hydrocracking
  • Solvent deasphalting with maximum value recovery
  • Heavy aromatic oil and pyrolysis-tar upgrading
  • Asphaltene/coke control and metals management
  • Advanced separations and future feedstocks
Process and catalyst innovation
  • Opportunity-crude desulfurization/demetallization catalysts
  • Low-H₂ hybrid adsorptive/catalytic desulfurization
  • Catalyst regeneration and poison-tolerance studies
Digitalization and AI/ML
  • AI-guided catalyst/material discovery and recipe optimization
  • Real-Time Detection of Pilferage and Unauthorized Tapping
  • Digital twins and AR/VR workforce training
  • Autonomous Crawling Robot for Above-Ground and Confined Pipelines
Maintenance & asset integrity
  • Risk-based inspection digital twin for fixed equipment and pipelines
  • ML-based corrosion/Corrosion Under Insulation/High Temperature Hydrogen Attack early warning
  • Predictive maintenance and drone/robot inspection
  • Material property prediction for catalysts and battery materials
  • Energy optimization and AI-enabled pinch/heat integration
  • Integrated mass-balance, pressure-wave and acoustic leak-detection system
Advanced Polymer Technology and Value-Added Petrochemical Products​
  • Process Intensification of Ethylene Oligomerization Using Membrane-Assisted Product Recovery
  • Energy-Efficient Recovery of High-Purity Isobutylene from Mixed C4 Streams
  • Catalyst and Process Development for Selective C5 to C9 Stream Valorization
  • Petcoke- or Carbon-Black-Based Conductive Polymer Composites
  • Natural-Fibre-Reinforced Polypropylene Using Agricultural Residues
  • Biodegradable Polyolefin Composites
  • EMI-Shielding / Conductive Polyolefin Composites
  • Self-Sensing and Self-Healing Composite Materials
  • Halogen-Free Flame-Retardant Polyolefin Composites
  • Chemical Decontamination of Recycled Polyolefins for High-Value Applications
  • Reversible Adhesives and Debond-on-Demand Multilayer Structures
Advanced Effluent Treatment and Resource Recovery​
  • Smart Segregation of High-COD, Oily, Saline and Toxic Refinery Effluent Streams
  • Reusable Oleophilic Membrane or Sorbent for Oil Recovery from Effluent
  • Simultaneous Removal of Phenol, Sulfide, Ammonia and Cyanide from Refinery Effluent
  • Integrated Advanced Oxidation and Biological Treatment with Minimum Chemical Use
  • Contaminant-Aware Membrane System for High-Quality Industry Water Reuse
  • Low-Energy Minimal-Liquid-Discharge System for Refinery Effluent
  • Automated Chemical-Dosing System Based on Real-Time Water Quality
  • Energy-Neutral Effluent Treatment Using Biogas and Waste Heat
  • Energy-Efficient Spent Caustic Treatment
  • Compact and Retrofit-Friendly Treatment Solutions

API / KSM and pharmaceutical intermediates
  • Indigenous routes for critical imported KSMs/APIs
  • Continuous-flow synthesis of high-value intermediates
  • Chiral building blocks by catalytic/enzymatic routes
  • Impurity profiling and purge strategy
Specialty chemical product platforms
  • Refinery aromatics to pharma/agro intermediates
  • Toluene, xylene and phenol derivative platforms
  • Specialty additives for fuels, polymers and coatings
  • Eco-friendly agrochemical and surfactant intermediates
Green chemistry and process intensification
  • Low-E-factor routes with solvent/water recycle
  • Safer solvent replacement and solvent-free synthesis
  • Telescoped reaction-separation-crystallization
Indigenous technologies
  • Domestic catalysts, ligands, resins and membranes
  • Modular multipurpose KSM/API manufacturing skids
  • Local raw-material and side-stream valorization
  • Supply-risk reduction and indigenous IP

  • This category welcomes innovative ideas of indigenous origin across, but not limited to, the following HMEL relevance domains: Refining, Petrochemicals, Retail, Fine Chemicals, Biofuels, Pharmaceutical KSMs, Sustainability, Energy Storage & Conversion, Decarbonization, Water Conservation, Agricultural Feedstocks, Digitalization, and other emerging technologies.
  • Students are also encouraged to submit unique, high-impact, and commercially viable ideas that solve real-world problems, create value for HMEL and the nation, or introduce completely new and out-of-the-box concepts - even if they do not fall under the above themes.

Process & Technology
  • Fired-heater/reformer efficiency and electrified heat
  • Steam, power, waste-heat and pinch-network optimization
  • Hybrid solar-thermal, heat pumps and low-carbon utilities
  • Carbon-footprint reduction for refinery operations
Carbon capture, utilization and conversion
  • CO2 capture from actual refinery emission points
  • Hybrid membrane/solvent capture for flue gas
  • CO2 to methanol, formate, syngas or minerals
Low-carbon hydrogen, alternate energy and storage
  • Solar/wind electrolyzers with wastewater pretreatment
  • O2 utilization, H2 storage, fuel cells and batteries
  • SMR heat/power, supercapacitors and smart grids
Alternate Energy and Sustainable Solutions
  • Hybrid solar-thermal + boiler systems for process-water preheating
  • Wind shields/ducts and AI-based wind siting for mini-turbines
  • Small Modular Reactors and nuclear heat applications
  • Solar/wind/biogas innovation for industrial operations
  • Advanced electrolyzer design for large-scale hydrogen
  • Wastewater/seawater electrolysis for hydrogen in industrial zones
  • Hybrid solar-wind-powered electrolyzer systems
  • Novel electrocatalysts for efficient, low-cost hydrogen production
  • Hydrogen storage and PEM fuel cells
  • Battery, supercapacitor, metal-air and solid-state storage technologies
  • Smart grid integration and industrial peak-load management

Bio-refinery and biomass platforms
  • Lignin to phenolics, surfactants and resins
  • Biomass gasification to clean syngas chemicals
  • Furfural/HMF/levulinic-acid derivative platforms
  • Bio-aromatics and drop-in refinery chemicals
  • Valorization of starch/cellulose-based feedstock for biofuel & novel value-added products
  • Novel opportunities in Bio-Ethanol & Bio-Butanol
Fermentation, synthetic biology and biocatalysis
  • Fermentation-derived solvents, polymers and acids
  • Enzyme-cascade routes to fine/API intermediates
  • Microbial conversion of CO2/CO to value products
  • Continuous bioconversion with enzyme reuse
Biofuels and refinery-compatible products
  • SAF and renewable diesel from waste/non-edible oils
  • Wet-waste hydrothermal liquefaction to biocrude
  • Alcohol-to-jet and biogas/CBG upgrading
  • Biogenic feed co-processing with product compliance
Circular economy, recycling and valorization
  • Mixed-plastic chemical recycling and polyolefin upcycling
  • PET/polyamide depolymerization to virgin monomers
  • Battery, solar-cell and critical-metal recycling
  • Refinery by-product, petcoke and catalyst valorization
  • Battery recycling technology
  • Recycling of end-of-life solar cells

Prizes & Opportunities

1st Prize
₹2,00,000
for top team in each theme (5 teams)​
  • Champion Team
  • Top Winner
2nd Prize
₹1,00,000
for next top 2 teams in each theme(10 teams)​
  • 10 Teams
  • Excellence
Consolation Prize
₹25,000
each for next top 10 teams

Important Dates to Remember

Stay on track with all the important milestones and deadlines for the upcoming competition.

Idea
Submission deadline

August 31st , 2026

Winner
Declaration

1st week of October​

Award
Felicitation Ceremony

October 15, 2026

Terms & Conditions

  • The submitted idea must not be proposed to, committed to, or under collaboration with any other industry/Institute. If selected, the participant shall undertake the project exclusively with HMEL; any violation will result in disqualification.
  • Ideas must be original and free from copyright issues.
  • Participants keep ownership, but HMEL may use ideas for review and promotion.
  • If selected for development, HMEL will own the final IP with no revenue sharing.
  • Submissions must be practical, innovative, and within contest themes.
  • Offensive or copied content will be disqualified.
  • All decisions by the organizing team are final.
  • Providing misleading information or violating the rules will result in disqualification.
  • HMEL can modify, suspend, or cancel the contest at any time.
  • Legal matters will be handled under Delhi jurisdiction.
  • Contest entry indicates acceptance of all terms.

i-QUEST 2026 - FAQs

Section 1: About i-QUEST 2026 Competition

A: QUEST is HMEL’s national innovation challenge for Under-graduate (UG), Post-graduate (PG) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) students to propose breakthrough ideas in energy, fine chemicals, sustainability, and emerging technologies.

A: Students who are currently enrolled in an eligible academic program at a recognized institute are eligible to participate.

A: No. Only students who are currently enrolled in the eligible program at a recognized institute are eligible to participate. Students who have already graduated are not eligible.

A:

A single faculty can mentor more than one team, provided each team meets all the eligibility and participation requirement

A:

Yes. Teams may include students from different eligible academic years and disciplines within the same institute, provided all student members meet the eligibility criteria.

A:
  • Minimum: 2 members (including 1 faculty mentor)
  • Maximum: 5 members (4 students + 1 faculty mentor)
  • A faculty mentor is mandatory

A:

Yes. Each team can submit a maximum of two different ideas. For each idea, the team must submit a separate Google Form response with the respective abstract and details. Both submissions must be completed within the specified deadline. The ideas can be from the same or different themes; it is not mandatory to stick to one theme.

A:

Yes, teams can be interdisciplinary - members may come from different departments or disciplines within the same institute. However, this is not mandatory; teams from the same discipline are equally welcome.

A:

Absolutely. There is no cap on the number of participating teams from an institute.

A:
  • Innovation and originality
  • Proof of concept
  • Economic and practical feasibility
  • Scalability
  • Alignment with HMEL’s focus areas
  • Social and environmental impact

A:

Refer to the brochure/website for specific dates. The competition includes registration, shortlisting, and a grand finale.

Section 2: Participation Form

A:

Only one student representative should fill out the form on behalf of the team for each idea submission. The google form link is - https://forms.gle/mJUtYqFhNCQQMg7h9.

A:

No. A student can participate in only one team. If a student is found to be part of multiple teams, all such teams will be disqualified.

A:

No. Please review carefully before submitting - editing after submission is not allowed.

A:

No. Only one submission per idea is needed from a single team representative.

A:

Yes. Each team must have one faculty mentor. Entries without a mentor will be considered ineligible. The mentor must be from same academic institute / college.

A:

Abstract can be submitted in pdf / doc file format with file name as “InstituteName_TeamLeaderName_Idea01” for example – “IITD_JackTurner_Idea01”.

A:

All participant, at-least lead participant, should specify his / her course details in google form e.g. FY B Tech / SY MSc / PhD 3rd Year, etc.

Section 3: Submission and Evaluation Process

A: Teams must first submit a short abstract (300-350 words) through the participation form. If shortlisted, they will be invited to give a presentation of their idea in front of the jury during the final round.

A:
  • Submissions will go through a two-stage process:
  • Initial screening: based on the idea summary submitted through the participation form.
  • Final evaluation:Shortlisted teams will present their ideas through a virtual or live pitch to the jury.

A:

A panel of HMEL’ cross function team experts, industry leaders, and subject matter specialists.

A:

Due to the high volume of entries, individual feedback will not be provided.

A:

Participation certificates will be awarded only to shortlisted teams.

A:

No. Once the participation form is submitted, the team composition cannot be changed.

A:

No. All ideas must be entirely original and created by the participating team members. Any idea found to be plagiarized or generated using AI tools will be disqualified.

A:

No. The submitted idea must not be proposed to, committed to, or under collaboration with any other industry/Institute. Similarly, if faculty mentor is engaged with some other organization using same idea, it will stand for disqualification.

Section 4: Contact & Support

A:

Email: info.quest@hmel.in

A:

Yes. For any technical issues with the form or clarification, reach out via the contact email.

A:

Please regularly check the www.hmel.in/quest regarding important updates, shortlisting, and finale details.