Pune

India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA), one of the leading alliances on energy storage & e-mobility along with Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET) conducted India’s first two days training workshop for li-ion cell fabrication and battery testing in Pune. The workshop was conducted on 11 and 12 March. This unique program was designed by IESA experts to help in skill development required to kickstart NITI Aayog’s National Mission for Advanced Battery Manufacturing.

IESA and CMET experts assisted the industry participants in understanding and learning the fundamentals of advanced energy storage technology trends and Li-ion cell manufacturing process via a combination of classroom and hands on lab training. The program helped the participants to understand the requirements of raw material, equipment & detailed manufacturing processes essential to set up Giga factories and advanced R&D capabilities. Presentations and lectures were given by global experts on cell manufacturing, chemistries and performance characteristics and on next generation Li-ion technologies. The workshop focused on the actual process of electrode preparation and battery fabrication.

Speaking on the workshop, Dr Bharat Kale, Director, CMET, said, “CMET is glad to be part of India Energy Storage Alliance who has a vision of making India a global hub for R&D, manufacturing and adoption of advanced energy storage and e-mobility technologies. Through Centre of Excellence of reachable batteries created by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), New Delhi, CMET has the Li-ion fabrication facility for Cathode, Anode and for Single Cell. Currently, Indian battery manufacturers are importing singe cells and making batteries of different capacities required in different verticals. We’re glad that at CMET we have materials for battery fabrication. It is our responsibility to support the industry so that India can pick up Li-ion manufacturing instead of depending on other countries. India’s first workshop by IESA along with CMET is a step towards it. We thank MeitY for creating such a facility and further [Li-ion fabrication] initiative in this regard at CMET Pune.”

Dr Rahul Walawalkar, President, India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) expressed, “Li-ion battery has become preferred technology in many battery storage applications due to its relatively high energy and power density as well as fast charge discharge capabilities. The battery pack manufacturers in India are currently assembling high capacity packs with the goal to target electric vehicles and stationary storage market. Assembling of Li-ion battery packs is a dynamic industry in India and is growing at a healthy pace. At IESA, we, however, believe that it is high time for Indian industry to take up R&D and advanced cell manufacturing so that we reduce our dependence on other countries. The recent pandemic related toCOVID19 has highlighted the importance of domestic manufacturing considering the risk of global supply chain disruptions. Energy storage and EVs have importance for national energy security and we should learn from the recent events and accelerate our efforts for building domestic capabilities.”

Dr Satyajit Phadke, Manager- R&D, Customized Energy Solutions (India), highlighted, “So far such training was mainly available in developed countries such as Germany and the US. This workshop is our effort to help bring down the costs of such training capabilities and help industry get better appreciation of the R&D facilities available within India. Our R&D initiative is industry- focused and we’re helping clients to solve the challenges that they are facing while deploying storage solutions for any application be it Stationary, EV or other.”

India has recently gained stature as one of the fastest growing markets for advanced energy storage technology supporting the exponential growth expected in its Electric Vehicle market over the next 5years. With IESA estimating the India market to account for over 300GWh (2019-25) considering ESS & EV opportunities, around $5 billion investments are expected to be attracted supporting 50+GWh capacities for multiple li-ion battery GIGA factories.