Hemant came to Auroville in 1991 after completing graduate studies in Economics and Small Business Entrepreneurship fromDelhi University to participate in the Auroville adventure. A passionate believer in renewable energy, he co-founded AuroRE (Auroville Renewable Energy) in 1998 to develop, train and promote small businesses supplying solar energy to rural areas asan offshoot of Auroville Center for Scientific Research. In  2004, AuroRE received the Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy thatrecognizes inspirational and innovative renewable energy projects.