The Central Electrochemical Research Institute, CECRI, bloomed into existence at Karaikudi, Tamilnadu by the year 1953, and was owed to the nation by  Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the then President of India. It became possible with the benevolence of Dr. RM. Alagappa Chettiar, a great philanthropist and visionary, who donated a sum of Rs. 15 lakhs and 300 acres of land in view of establishing this Institution at Karaikudi, Tamilnadu. Laying the foundation stone of the institute, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru urged the scientific community to yoke their findings for the public good. Today, CECRI is one of the largest electrochemical laboratories in the world, engaged in Research & Development in all the facets of electrochemical science and technology. CECRI covers a gamut of fields including Batteries and Fuel Cells, Corrosion Science and Engineering, Electrochemical Instrumentation, Electrochemical Materials Science, Electrochemical Pollution Control, Electrodics and Electrocatalysis, Electrohydrometallurgy, Electropyrometallurgy, Functional Materials, Industrial Metal Finishing and Nanoscale Electrochemistry.

         Electrochemical science and technology is truly an inter-disciplinary, swathing a spectrum of science and engineering disciplines such as chemistry, physics, biology, chemical engineering and materials science. Electrochemical science and technology influences the diverse aspects of our civilization: batteries that power flashlights, cellphones and satellites; copper bottom vessels, gold covering jewelry and chromium plating on automobile parts; galvanized iron sheets, sacrificial anodes on ship hulls and corrosion protection mechanisms in offshore platforms; production of industrial chemicals such as camphor, calcium gluconate and ammonium perchlorate; metals such as magnesium, aluminum, copper and zinc - the list is endless. To sustain the numerous electrochemical industries that shape our civilization, India and the world at large, require highly skilled personnel. As a national laboratory, CECRI undertakes the task of moulding young minds into electrochemical engineers of the future. As an organized program, CECRI has been hosting a four-year, eight-semester B.Tech. course in Chemical and Electrochemical Engineering, since 1988. The course is unique and a judicious blend of chemical and electrochemical engineering and certainly one of its kind. An aspect of its singularity is that the course is conducted by eminent scientists and engineers, who are involved directly with various Research & Developmental activities of electrochemical science and technology.

     Until last year, the Centre for Education - host of the B.Tech. program, was an adjunct department of the AC College of Technology, Anna University, Chennai. However, from 2008-09, CECRI has been assigned a separate college code and a college name: 5012 Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CSIR), Karaikudi - affiliating with Anna University, Trichirapalli.  Admissions to the B.Tech. program is  through the Single Window System of the Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA), Anna University, and now it is affilated to Annauniversity of Technology Madurai, Madurai.