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CONTENTS

VOLUME 8 – ISSUE 3 • MAY-JUNE 2021

50 55

| May–June 2021

EXPERT'S NOTE

FROM THE EDITOR

10 NATIONAL NEWS 24 INTERNATIONAL NEWS 76

GIGA FACTORY - LIB MANUFACTURING 36 Setting up a giga factory 40 Cathode: LIB energy source 44 Anode: determining energy density 48 Separator: ensuring battery safety 46

50 Electrolyte: enabling ionic conduction

54 LIB manufacturing processes and machines

SAFETY 66 Ensuring cell safety during manufacturing 11

80 72

ENERGY STORAGE 68 ACC impact on India’s battery manufacturing

LEADERSHIP SPEAK 70 Dr Rahul Walawalkar President – India Energy Storage Alliance

E-MOBILITY 74 EV market post pandemic

HYDROGEN 78

76 Green hydrogen potential as future fuel May–June 2021 |

EXPERT'S NOTE

The dawn of a defining epoch It is with great pleasure I share with you all, that India has finally entered the global race for giga factory. The month of May has been monumental, but the biggest announcement unquestionably has been the Union Cabinet’s nod for the implementation of the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme 'National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage'. This program looks to achieve a manufacturing capacity of 50GWh of ACC and 5GWh of 'niche' ACC, with an outlay of `18,100 crore in India. India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) would like to thank PM Narendra Modi, Niti Aayog, DHI, and all the other stakeholders involved. IESA is confident that with the incentive program approved, Indian industry can respond positively and help put India on the global gigafactory map within the next 2-3 years. It is crucial that along with the 4-5 giga factories, we also focus our efforts on developing the supply chain for these gigafactories from the start. IESA is already working Dr Rahul Walawalkar with over 30 companies that can play a critical role in estabPresident – IESA lishing the raw and processed material supply chain. While Managing Director – CES India majority of the attention is on the 50GWh program with 5 GWh minimum capacity, I am excited with approval of additional 5 GWh niche technology program, where the individual facility can be built with 0.5 GWh capacity, this will enable next generation technologies to establish a foothold in India and drive the R&D collaboration with many research institutions that are ready with facilities, thanks to support from DST. We are also initiating effort to develop a vision for 2035 for the industry to build on the initial 50 GWh capacity that is anticipated to start production by 2027-28. Considering the exponential growth for both stationary and e-mobility segments, we propose target of 100 GWh by 2030 and 500GWh + by 2035.

The energy storage sector, we strongly believe, has what it takes to make the ‘Make in India’ lion roar.

While the investors are enthused by Cabinet decision on PLI, another positive development has been the inclusion of energy storage under secondary and tertiary reserves with performance-based incentives in the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission’s draft Ancillary Services Regulations issued on May 29. This is an exciting development, as such demand-side policies are essential for boosting industry confidence and encouraging companies to take the plunge into investing in battery manufacturing.

Along with these measures, we believe R&D, skill development, securing critical material, and new models exploring financing will go a long way in the successful implementation of ACC Battery Storage program. I reckon the PLI Scheme is not just a major step for 5-6 companies that will set up gigafactories but will be giant leap India wishes to take towards making India a global hub for R&D, manufacturing, and adoption of advanced energy storage & EV technologies. The energy storage sector, we strongly believe, has what it takes to make the ‘Make in India’ lion roar.

May–June 2021 |

FROM THE EDITOR

Leapfrogging from KWh to MWh, and trending at GWh Is giga factory just a trend, or the concept that is the answer to growing battery energy storage demand? Either way, it is a mammoth task that requires anywhere close to ~$4billion to build. And it is not just the initial capital investment that is necessary, setting up a giga factory project has a lot more that needs to be invested in – a robust supply chain network, secure raw material input and most importantly a trained work force. India has realized the need for scaled-up production of LIBs to meet its energy storage needs in fulfilling its RE and e-mobility targets. The recent approval of the PLI scheme conveys the intent of the government of putting India in the great global giga factory race. A small step, but a big decision towards the future. Niti Aayog predicts a need for 50 GWh battery storage capacity over the next couple of years to support India’s RE commitments. A great opportunity for the frontline comAshok Thakur panies in India to come together and pitch for producChief Editor – ETN tion on a giga scale. Many athakur@ces-ltd.com of India’s leading business houses have shown interest in Li-ion cell battery manufacturing. But like I mentioned earlier, it is an investment-heavy venture and will require a good amount of planning. A lot of foreign needs to set companies have shown interest too.

India up research centers, knowledge hubs, educational training or workshops to build confidence in entrepreneurs.

So, if there is so much opportunity, and interested parties, what is stopping the movement ahead. A giga factory, like all mammoths, needs a feeder industry. Most of the demand in India for ACCs is currently being met through imports from China with its unbeatable rates and its quality. Single source dependency should be discouraged and multiple avenues should be developed for import of necessary components. In doing so, indigenous producers of ancillary products and raw materials should be considered.

A lot of factors have to be considered; for one, it will not be easy for one single party to set up a giga factory. Alliances and JVs would work and companies should aim at that. For foreign companies, the business environment should be made conducive and single window business transactions for ease of doing business should be encouraged. ACC manufacturing requires a host of ancillary and feeder industries for which technical knowhow as well as trained manpower is a starting point. India needs to set up research centers, knowledge hubs, educational training or workshops to build confidence in entrepreneurs.

| May–June 2021

It’s time to start building a repository of skilled and qualified manpower. Courses can be included in the technical curriculum, and even private institutes can provide LIB production specific training. IESA Academy provides training on subjects related to energy storage manufacturing. Regular workshops and master classes are held to guide organizations and train technology personnel, like the recently held ‘Hands-on Li-ion Fabrication Workshop’. Many more such skillset enhancers should be initiated, to create a skilled workforce pool to cater to giga factory needs. On the world stage the giga factory story began in Asia, in South Korea, China and Japan where seven large companies produced 75 percent of battery cell production in 2020. Despite the importance of energy storage for renewable energy - with the exception of China - the world was slow recognize this fact. China kept a tight grip on the essential raw materials and over the past 10 years built a lead position in the processing of almost all the critical minerals like lithium, cobalt or graphite and focused on building capacity at every stage of the battery supply chain. It currently dominates the world’s battery production; by 2030, it is expected to hold 67 percent of global Li-ion cell manufacturing capacity. Despite finding itself on the back foot, Europe has taken tremendous initiatives to build energy independence through such measures as establishing the European Battery Alliance 250. Seven European States contributed to create an estimated €250 billion fund to create a domestic battery value chain. Through collaborations and joint ventures with the Asian giants, the Continent is literally moving ahead at lightning speed in building battery storage capacity, with super-sized Li-ion battery cell plants in the pipeline up to 2030. India now needs to take a more ‘bottom-up’ approach and look at supporting the huge and critical ancillary industry: components manufacture, electronics, processing and much more – to the foundation on which a giga factory is built. Even the most elementary question still begs an answer: what are India’s arrangements for sourcing of lithium, cobalt or graphite? There is no doubt that India will eventually reach a point where we will boast of our own giga factories. However, without a goal such as Europe has for energy-independence, the big question mark is When?

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NATIONAL NEWS

Energy Storage

ACC battery storage manufacturing set to take off in India

The Union Cabinet yesterday approved the much-awaited Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) battery manufacturing with the view to make India 'Aatmanirbhar' (self-reliant) in the manufacturing of advanced storage technologies. The PLI scheme on ACC Battery Storage proposed by the Department of Heavy Industry (DHI) is aimed at achieving a manufacturing capacity of 50GWh of ACC and 5 GWh of "Niche" ACC in India. "At present India imports INR 20,000 crore worth of battery storage equipment, with the newly approved PLI scheme in ACC battery manufacturing, India will be able to make advanced battery storage technologies domestically, and reduce its reliance on imports," said Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises, addressing a press conference held yesterday after the Cabinet meeting. ACCs are the new generation of advanced storage technologies that can store electric energy either as electrochemical or as chemical energy and convert it back to electric energy as and when required. Currently, battery storage is being used in consumer electronics, electric vehicles, advanced electricity grids, solar rooftops, among others -- these sectors are expected to achieve robust growth in the coming years, and with that, the demand for battery storage is also expected to surge. "The National Programme on ACC Battery Storage is expected to attract investments of `45,000 crore," said Mr. Javadekar. The minister underscored that the PLI scheme for ACC battery manufacturing will also give a significant push to electric mobility in India (electric two-wheeler, threewheeler, four-wheelers as well as heavy vehicles segment) and make way for long-lasting and fast-charging batteries manufactured in India.

IESA welcome Cabinet decision India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA), an industry alliance focused on promoting energy storage and e-mobility in India welcomed the Union Cabinet's approval. "The approval of ACC programme will enable Indian conglomerates to take the first steps to become part of the global advanced battery manufacturing ecosystem and attract global technology leaders and investors to invest in India," expressed Dr. Rahul Walawalkar, President, India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA). ACC batteries will be crucial for India's energy security in the coming decade given their role in enabling renewable integration and e-mobility transition, he added. Currently, all the demand for ACCs in the country is being met purely through imports. IESA and its members have been at the forefront of the efforts towards building advanced battery manufacturing capabilities in the country and making India a hub for R&D in advanced energy storage technologies. Next-steps in implementation of the scheme As per the official release by DHI, ACC battery storage manufacturers will be selected through a transparent competitive bidding process. The manufacturing facility would have to be commissioned within a period of two years, and the incentive will be disbursed thereafter over a period of five years. The incentive amount will increase with increased specific energy density and cycles and increased local value addition. Each selected ACC battery storage manufacturer would have to commit to set-up an ACC manufacturing facility of a minimum 5GWh capacity and ensure a minimum 60 percent domestic value addition at the project level within five years. Furthermore, the beneficiary firms have to achieve a domestic value addition of at least 25 percent and incur the mandatory investment INR 225 crore /GWh within two years (at the mother unit level) and raise it to

| May–June 2021

Union Minister of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises, Prakash Javadekar, addressing a press conference after the Cabinet approved INR 18,100 crore PLI scheme in ACC battery storage.

60 percent domestic value addition within five years, either at Mother Unit, in-case of an integrated unit, or at the project level, in-case of "Hub & Spoke" structure. The outcomes/ benefits expected from the scheme: • Setup a cumulative 50 GWh of ACC manufacturing facilities in India under the Programme. • Direct investment of around INR 45,000 crore in ACC battery storage manufacturing projects. • Facilitate demand creation for battery storage in India. • Facilitate Make-in-India: Greater emphasis upon domestic valuecapture and therefore reduction in import dependence. • Net savings of Indian INR 2,00,000 crore to INR 2,50,000 crore on account of oil import bill reduction during the period of this Programme as ACCs manufactured under the Programme expected to accelerate EV adoption. • The manufacturing of ACCs will facilitate demand for EVs, which are proven to be significantly less polluting. As India pursues an ambitious renewable energy agenda, the ACC program will be a key contributing factor to reduce India's Green House Gas (GHG) emissions which will be in line with India's commitment to combat climate change. • Import substitution of around INR. 20,000 crore every year. • Impetus to R&D to achieve higher specific energy density and cycles in ACC. Promote newer and niche cell technologies.

Prof. CNR Rao receives Eni Award for research in RE sources, energy storage Bharat Ratna Professor Chintamani Nages Ramachandra Rao has received the International Eni Award 2020 - Energy Frontier award for research into renewable energy sources and energy storage. The 13th edition of Eni Award was announced earlier this week and will be presented on October 14, during an official ceremony held at the Quirinal Palace in Rome which will be attended by the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella. According to Eni, Prof. Rao received this award for his work on metal oxides, carbon nanotubes, and other materials, as well as on two-dimensional systems, including graphene, boron-nitrogen-carbon hybrid materials, and molybdenum sulfide (Molybdenite - MoS2) for energy applications and green

Bharat Ratna Professor Chintamani Nages Ramachandra Rao

hydrogen production. The latter can, in fact, be achieved through various processes including the photodissociation of water, thermal dissociation, and electrolysis

activated by electricity produced from solar or wind energy. Professor Rao has worked in all three areas and developed some highly innovative materials. The same or related materials have also been shown to have beneficial properties for the construction of hydrogen storage systems and supercapacitors with high specific power and an increased number of charge-discharge cycles. The latter are energy storage devices, like batteries, which will become an increasingly important part of the renewable energy sector. The Eni Awards have been recognized globally over the years in the field of energy and environmental research and it aims to promote better use of energy sources and encourages new generations of researchers in the field.

Ruchira Green Earth to set up Li-on battery plant in Haryana Lithium-ion batteries and allied products manufacturer Ruchira Green Earth has announced that it will capitalize `200 crore over the next three or four years to set up a new manufacturing unit in Haryana to double its production capacity. The company, which has a present capacity of manufacturing up to 5,000 batteries per month, is setting up a new unit at Yamuna Nagar in Haryana to achieve the rising demand for its products. Ruchira Green Earth, which sells EV batteries under flagship brand AKIRA, said it has bagged orders from OEMs such as Gemopai, Tunwal, Myantra, Benling, Komaki for the supply of lithium-ion batteries for electric scooters. It is now considering doubling its manufacturing capacity of lithium-ion batteries. It is planning to set up a `200 crore plant at Yamuna Nagar, which will be financed through internal accrual of `50 crore and a bank loan, the company said, adding the fresh

investment would be made over three to four years. At present, the company produces lithium-ion batteries for electric two, three, and four-wheelers for commercial vehicles, loaders, forklift trucks, golf carts, among others.

It is now aiming at energy storage systems, home storage, and energy storage solutions from banks, hospitals, industries, and government contracts for villages, defence, railways, and telecom sectors, among others, the declaration said.

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NATIONAL NEWS

Electric Vehicles

Gujarat commissions 50 JBM airconditioned e-buses in Ahmedabad

Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani has launched 50 JBM ECO-LIFE electric buses from Vastral BRTS Depot virtually. This is the first batch, out of a total of 180 buses that JBM Auto will be supplying to Ahmedabad city the company stated. The bus service has been rolled out under the BRTS scheme by Ahmedabad Janmarg Ltd which is a 100 percent subsidiary of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. ECO-LIFE electric bus, a Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV), manufactured by JBM Auto Ltd, JBM ECO-LIFE electric buses. Source: JBM Group. will save around 1000 equivalent tons of carbon dioxide and 350,000 liters of diesel over 10 years of operation. JBM Auto has commissioned end-to-end e-mobility ecosystem at the Vastral depot which includes the buses, charging infrastructure, power infrastructure, and maintenance as a complete solution, JBM added.

MG Motor India, Attero join forces for battery recycling MG Motor India has joined forces with Attero for the recycling of electric vehicle (EV) batteries in

the country. The partnership is targeted at reusing and recycling the Li-ion batteries used in MG

ZS EV. Source: MG Motor India.

| May–June 2021

Motor’s ZS EV units after their end-of-life. Noida-based Attero – an electronic asset management company and clean-tech provider, deals in battery end-of-use management. "The partnership with Attero gives our customers more confidence concerning the battery's endof-life usage. The move will assist in responsible recycling and will further minimize the carbon footprint of ZS EV users while supporting the local economy," said Rajeev Chaba, MG Motor India President and Managing Director. "We are delighted to join hands with MG and feel that Attero is the best match to the high-performance batteries provided in its vehicles," Attero CEO Nitin Gupta noted.

Karnataka improvizes EV policy to attract investors The Karnataka Cabinet has announced that it has decided to offer a 15 percent capital subsidy to investors in the electric vehicle sector. The Cabinet decided to modify its Electric Vehicle & Storage Policy, 2017, to improve upon its prevailing policy. The government will

give a 15 percent capital subsidy on the value of fixed assets over five equal annual payments, Law minister Basavaraj Bommai said. The sops will apply to plots of up to 50 acres. The government will also give a production-linked incentive of one percent of revenue for a period of five years from the first

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year of commercial operations. The trigger for tweaks arose after EV policies of a few other states such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Gujarat offered seemingly better deals as their policies are of recent vintage. Karnataka had notified its policy more than three years ago, becoming the first state to do so. The government is also looking to generate an EV cluster in Ramanagar district, near Bengaluru. The state's policy, as of now, focussed on incentives linked to the GST. The industries department, however, had felt this approach was obsolete as the GST Council has slashed rates for EVs and EV components over a period of time, rendering GST-based sops less attractive to investors. Around 47 startups are working in the EV sector, including Ola Electric, Sun Mobility, Kwh Bikes, and Ather Energy.

House of Anita Dongre invests in Altigreen for EV solutions development Electric vehicles manufacturer, Altigreen has announced that it has established investment from the family office of the Indian fashion house, House of Anita Dongre, to support its vision of efficient, affordable, and accessible carbon-free transportation. "We are delighted with this investment. It will extend the horizon of investments in EV solutions beyond the traditional funds while helping us achieve our mission of reducing India's carbon footprint by making road transport completely electric," Amitabh Saran, founder, and CEO, Altigreen, said. "We're excited to take this journey forward with the team at Altigreen. We believe and concur with their mission and vision of making Indian

cities more breathable again," Mukesh Sawlani, Chairman House of Anita Dongre Ltd, said.

Altigreen's technology for the electrification of last-mile transport provides outstanding performance and is tuned to the needs of endcustomers and fleet operators. A global team with a forward-thinking and 'must do' approach is creating innovative EV solutions locally.

Altigreen’s E3W. Source: Altigreen May–June 2021 |

EV fleet operator Lithium Urban Technologies acquires SmartCommute Electric vehicles fleet operator Lithium Urban Technologies has announced that it has procured SmartCommute, an end-to-end employee transport services platform. With the procurement of SmartCommute, which was founded in 2014 and served in employee transportation services for corporates, Lithium Urban will become a full-stack transportation solutions provider, the company said in a declaration. SmartCommute comes with proven expertise in high-end techenabled solutions for smart rostering and AI-enabled routing that can significantly optimize operations and costs for clients, Lithium

Urban Technologies Founder Sanjay Krishnan said. "With this procurement, we aim to expand our presence in the larger transportation and mobility ecosystem and provide full-stack services, going beyond sustainable corporate mobility solutions. "We are targeting to help clients seamlessly transition from ICE (internal combustion engine) to electric vehicles given the tight integration that this platform will provide, with EVs and charging station telematics, and scheduling algorithms," he added. Before the outbreak of the pandemic, around 30,000 employees

Lithium Urban fleet

in over 3,000 vehicles, across Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, New Delhi, and Hyderabad were traveling daily through the SmartCommute platform, the declaration said. SmartCommute's client portfolio involved Capgemini, L&T Infotech, KPIT, and TCS, among others, it added. SmartCommute Co-Founder Ajit Patil said employee transportation is a multi-billion-dollar market in India and Lithium powered with SmartCommute technology will be in a formidable position to become a leader in this market. With the amalgamation of the SmartCommute platform, Lithium Urban Technologies said it "will now be equipped to expand further into the potential rich transportation segments including freight and rapid bus transit among others." Further, the company will also provide both electric and non-electric vehicles, making it a one-stop solution for smart transportation services across different form factors for its client portfolio, it added.

Etrio plans to enter e-4W segment EV manufacturer Etrio has announced that it is considering entering the electric four-wheeler light commercial vehicle (LCV) category, and plans to launch new products in the three-wheeler category. The company also announced its venture in the B2B segment with the Pan-India dealership network to increase adoption of three-wheelers besides opening dealerships in

Etrio Touro e-3W. Source: Etrio.

six states. At present, the company has dealers in Delhi, UP, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha. The three-wheeler passenger market, which has been affected significantly by restricted movement owing to the pandemic and urban lockdowns, is projected to recover once there is a demand surge.Furthermore, the growth of the intra-city movement is largely led by demand in the e-commerce last-mile logistics category. Towards meeting this demand, Etrio is working on the ground with its dealers and stakeholders including financiers, charging infrastructure players, among others,

| May–June 2021

to build an electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem, and plans to further strengthen its presence in the country by opening outlets in over 15 states by the end of this financial year. As part of this plan, the company will reinforce its presence in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and also enter Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar, and West Bengal, thereby deepening its presence in existing states. "The primary product line will be the electric three-wheeler range of Touro across both cargo and passenger segments. Also, on the anvil are plans to launch new products in the three-wheeler category and enter the electric four-wheeler LCV segment with a one-tonne offering," Etrio said.

Tata expands EV charging infra footprint Tata Motors in collaboration with Tata Power has inaugurated a total of five superfast CCS2 EV charging stations in the country. Out of the five installed charging stations, three were inaugurated in Jaipur while the cities of Bhubaneshwar and Cuttack received one each.

Bhubaneshwar has got its first EV charging station at TML Dion Automotives in Samantarapur while the second one was set up at TML Gugnani Autocars, Pratap Nagari in Cuttack. The company now runs a total of four chargers in the State of Odisha, positioned on major routes.

The high-speed EV charger is equipped to charge the Nexon EV from 0-80 percent in one hour. Source: Tata Motors.

The pink city of Rajasthan – Jaipur, is now equipped with three more EV charging points. These can be positioned at First Mobital, Roshan Motors, and Shree Shyam Motors. With this, Rajasthan now has a total of eight EV charging stations. The charging stations are open for all-electric vehicles facilitated with CCS fast-charging standards. It can fill up 80 percent of the Tata Nexon EV's battery in just one hour. Mentioning on the inauguration, Sandeep Bangia, Head- EV, HA & ESCO Business, Tata Power, said, "We are committed to accelerating EV adoption across the country by expanding our charging infrastructure footprint. Currently, all the 4000+ Tata Nexon EV owners can access over 456 charging points installed in 92 cities and on several prominent intercity routes across India."

MoEVing, Hero Electric fast-track affordable EV adoption Electric fleet startup MoEVing has announced that it has partnered with Hero Electric to fast-track the adoption of the affordable electric vehicle, with plans to transform onelakh internal combustion engine-run two-wheelers to EVs in the next five years. In the immediate term, the Delhi-based EV platform will

Source: Hero Electric

position 1,000 Hero Electric vehicles through its technology platform for B2B companies by FY22 through its technology platform for B2B e-commerce players, retail, third party logistics (3PL), and FMCG companies, Hero Electric said. The two partners intend to increase adoption of EVs via new

demand and also focus on prevailing ICE vehicles to transform to EVs. In the next five years, the partnership targets to transform 1,00,000 two-wheeler ICE vehicles -- used in last-mile delivery -- to EVs. Under the partnership, MoEVing platform will deliver access to data and analytics modules and Hero Electric will help with vehicle and battery performance and other maintenance issues on a realtime basis to further accelerate technology, product, and service improvements. MoEVing, which targets to onboard 1-million EVs by 2030, at present operates in Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi/NCR, Pune, and Mumbai. It plans to expand operations to over 100 cities in the next three-five year. As a key OEM in the EV space, Hero Electric through this partnership with MoEVing aims to further drive the adoption of EVs fundamentally among the B2B sector.

May–June 2021 |

India to unveil Indian Standard for charging points The Govt. of India in May announced that the Indian Standards for low-cost AC charging points for electric vehicles (EVs) will be released within the next two months with target prices starting as low as `3,500 for a charging unit. A forthcoming Indian Standard will permit a rapid scaling up of EV charging infrastructure that is much needed in the country, as per the office of Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India (GoI). In India, the share of Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) 2W and 3W is ~84 percent of total vehicle sales. Therefore, the fastest adoption of EVs is expected to be in these segments. Studies forecast by 2025, up to four million electric vehicles could be sold each year, growing to almost 10 million by 2030. Any charging solution to serve this sector must be highly scalable, easily accessible by the public; it should support interoperability, and be affordable. Most systems developed across the globe address higher levels of power and are very expensive for widespread deployment. The Department of Science and Technology (DST), the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to GoI, in close coordination with NITI Aayog will be working together on this. A committee comprising all the key stakeholders including EV manufacturers, auto and electronic component suppliers, power utilities, and communication service providers has worked in fast-track mode to develop specifications, prototype products, and undertake testing and validation of the proposed

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standards. These will be formally issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The group had set a target price of less than INR 3500 ($50) for a smart AC charge point operated with a smartphone, for a global breakthrough in affordable EV charging infrastructure. Fast-track development of the standard, close working between industry and government, and diligent testing and validation have met with success. This Low-Cost AC Charge point (LAC) allows up to 3 kW of power to be drawn charging e-scooters and e-auto rickshaws. The draft Indian Standard has been taken up by the BIS Committee on Electromobility Standards. The formal release of the standards will be done within the next two months, after the conclusion of field and durability trials of sample products. It is anticipated that a new industry sector will transpire catering to the high volume, low-cost charging infrastructure for EVs.

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Ola Electric appoints Wayne Burgess as Head-Vehicle Design Ola Electric has announced the appointment of Wayne Burgess, as Head of Vehicle Design for its entire product range including scooters, bikes, cars, and more. Wayne is recognized for his wealth of international automotive design experience, having worked on some of the most legendary and iconic cars in automotive history including the Bentley Arnage in 1998, Aston Martin's DB9 in the mid-2000s, and more recently, the Jaguar XF, F-Type, F-Pace SUV, XE as well as many others. Wayne has spent almost three decades designing vehicles for the majority of British premium automotive manufacturers, from Rolls Royce and Bentley in his early career to Aston Martin and Jaguar Landrover to, more recently, Lotus. Notably, Wayne was the Chief Designer for the Jaguar F-Type

Wayne Burgess, Head of Vehicle Design, Ola Electric

sports car, and then Studio Director for the Jaguar F-Pace SUV. Expressing his keen interest to

take charge of vehicle design at Ola Electric, Wayne Burgess said, "I am looking forward to my work at Ola Electric and to the opportunity to lead a team that will work on designing cutting-edge electric vehicles for the world. I am thrilled to be part of Ola as it accelerates on its path to becoming a leader in global EV solutions." Ola is gearing up to launch the first in its range of electric scooters in the coming months. The Ola Scooter will roll out from the Ola Futurefactory which is being built at record speed in Tamil Nadu, India. The Ola Futurefactory will be the world's largest two-wheeler factory when fully operational at 10 million-a-year capacity next year. The factory will start manufacturing the Ola Scooter as soon as its first phase of 2 million annual capacity is ready this summer.

Hero MotoCorp to launch its first electric model in 2022 Hero MotoCorp has announced that it will launch an electric model next year, marking its entry into the electric vehicle segment. According to media reports, to develop its electric vehicle vertical, the company intends to utilize its Jaipur, Rajasthan, and Stephanskirchen, Germany-based R&D setups. They are presently working to make products that have

a fixed charging system. Last month, the company tied up with Taiwan-based Gogoro Inc to bring the latter's battery swapping technology in the country by utilizing it in its future EVs. The two-wheeler maker has also capitalized on Bengaluru-based EV startup Ather Energy which has already introduced some of its models to tap the pulse of the market.

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May–June 2021 |

Omega Seiki, Log 9 Materials partners for e-3W rapid charging battery tech Omega Seiki Pvt Ltd has announced a strategic partnership with Log 9 Materials for introducing rapid

Range+ e-3W. Source: Omega Seiki Pvt Ltd.

charging batteries technology in its Rage+ electric 3W platform. A switch to rapid charging batteries will help to transform the last-mile delivery ecosystem in the country, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said in an official release. The technology will be first introduced in Range+ in two variants, a 5.8 kWh, 120 Ah unit, and a 6.5 kWh, 140 Ah battery which will take 30 minutes and 35 minutes respectively to charge fully. Both the variants can operate in temperatures between -40°C and +65°C, making

them suitable for Indian conditions. Developed by Log 9 Materials, these batteries will have 15,000 charge cycles. A 15-year warranty is assured on the batteries. Omega Seiki Rage+ with rapid charging batteries will have a range of around 65km to 100 km when fully charged. Omega Seiki Mobility and Log 9 Material are precisely aiming at the B2B last-mile delivery segment for the positioning of its rapid charging batteries in the Rage+ RapidEV variant of the original Rage+ platform. The companies added that they target to revolutionize the electric vehicle market in India with these new Log9 RapidX batteries.

SUN Mobility and Tarmac Technologies win Michelin International Mobility Award Michelin has announced that it has presented its International Mobility Award to Tarmac Technologies and SUN Mobility, two startups that are contributing to the development of mobility. The Michelin International Mobility Award is given as part of the Blue Ocean Awards, of which Michelin is a major partner. Inspired by the Blue Ocean strategy concept, the Blue Ocean Awards recognize businesses that have created innovative solutions in unexplored, uncontested market space. In presenting Ta r m a c Technologies and SUN Mobility with

the award, Michelin has recognized two businesses with great potential to deliver innovative services that make mobility safer, more efficient, more responsible, and more accessible: Operating in Europe and the United States, Tarmac Technologies connects airport industry players (airlines, airports, subcontractors, and cargo-handling companies) with a unique, easy, 100% digital solution to track and optimize aircraft ground handling operations during stopovers, to reduce flight delays.

SUN Mobility, operating in fourteen major cities in India, provides an energy infrastructure solution for electric fleets, consisting of Smart Batteries and Quick Interchange Stations, all connected. The service is based on battery swapping technology that addresses key issues associated with electric mobility, such as costs, range, and recharging time, so to speed up access to electric mobility, in particular, in emerging countries Thanks to this award, both startups will gain access to development programs and guidance from

Michelin presented its International Mobility Award to Tarmac Technologies and SUN Mobility | May–June 2021

3rd November, 2021 Industry Excellence Awards 2021 Leaders who inspire change

It could be your time to be in the spotlight. ▪ Energy Storage ▪ Electric Mobility ▪ Microgrid ▪ NOMINATION CATEGORIES Company Of The Year Emerging Company Of The Year Project Of The Year Tech Innovation Of The Year CXO Of The Year Emerging Leader Of The Year Women Leader Of The Year Researcher Of The Year Lifetime Achievement Award Financial Institutions Of The Year To Drive The Market Electric Vehicle Of The Year EV Infrastructure Company Of The Year Policy Pioneers – Outstanding Contribution To The Industry IESA-Earth Day Hero Award

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Okaya Power commissions 100 kWp hybrid solar plant in Himachal Pradesh

Okaya Power Group has announced that it has successfully commissioned a 100 kWp hybrid solar plant in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh at its manufacturing unit which will generate more than 144 MWh energy annually reducing its power consumption from the grid to 40 percent. The commissioned hybrid solar plant makes the unit self-sufficient for its daily energy requirement and also supports the uninterrupted production process with continuous power supply even in the scenario of unanticipated power cuts happening due to grid failure. The capacity of Okaya's hybrid solar plant is 100 kWp with 306 number of 330 Wp modules, 250 kW Power Conditioning System (PCS), and 250 kWh Li-ion battery energy storage with Battery Management System (BMS). The efficient BMS ensures the

battery performance with proper safety measures within a system and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) will be able to manage energy requirements as per application in addition to backup support, load sharing, energy shifting, etc. By Installing a 100 kWp solar rooftop plant which is equivalent to planting 200 trees for carbon sequestration, Okaya reinvigorates its focus on reducing the carbon footprints and contributing immensely to the fight against global climate change. Hybrid solar systems generate power in the same way as a common grid-tie solar system but use special hybrid inverters and batteries to store energy and operate as a backup power supply. This is a great solution for conserving energy sources by reducing wastage and global warming, in addition to sustainable development. Okaya has recently bagged a prestigious contract from Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments Limited

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(REIL) for supply, installation, and commissioning of over 4244 multistandard EV charging stations with CCS, CHAdeMO, Type-2 &amp; Bharat specification protocol across the country. The contract is funded by the Department of Heavy Industries (DHI), Ministry of Heavy Industries, and Public Enterprises. Before this, REIL also awarded a contract to Okaya for supply, installation, and commissioning of over 200 multistandard EV chargers in all metro cities and major highways, starting with Delhi-Jaipur-Agra, and Mumbai-Pune.

Adani Green Energy acquires SB Energy’s 5 GW India RE portfolio Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) has announced that it has signed share purchase agreements for the acquisition of 100 percent interest in SB Energy India from SBG (80 percent) and Bharti Group (20 percent). SB Energy India has a total renewable portfolio of 4,954 MW spread across four states in India. The transaction marks the largest acquisition in the renewable energy

sector in India. The transaction values SB Energy India at an enterprise valuation of approximately $3.5 billion. The target portfolio consists of large-scale utility assets with 84% solar capacity (4,180 MW), 9 percent wind-solar hybrid capacity (450 MW), and 7percent wind capacity (324 MW). The portfolio comprises 1,400 MW operational solar power capacity and a further 3,554 MW is

Solar power plant. Source: SB Energy. | May–June 2021

under construction. All projects have 25-year PPAs with sovereign-rated counterparties such as Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd. (SECI), NTPC Limited, and NHPC Limited. The operating assets forming part of the portfolio are primarily solar parkbased projects and have been built following best-in-class governance, project development, construction, and operations and maintenance practices, resulting in this being one of the highest quality renewable portfolios in the country. With this acquisition, AGEL will achieve a total renewable capacity of 24.3 GW 1 and an operating renewable capacity of 4.9 GW. This acquisition demonstrates AGEL's intent to be the leader in sustainable energy transition globally and makes it one of the largest renewable energy platforms in the world. The closing of the transaction is subject to customary approvals and conditions.

ReNew Power to set up solar modules and cell manufacturing facility in Gujarat ReNew Power, one of India's leading renewable energy company has announced to develop solar modules and cell manufacturing facility in Dholera Special Industrial Region located in Gujarat. About 100 acres have been allocated for the greenfield project by the State Government of Gujarat, ensuring adequate availability of land for future capacity expansion. "The Indian Government's

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IESA

Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for solar photovoltaic (PV) India Energy Storage Alliance modules has opened up several avenues for domestic manufacturing in the renewable energy sector," said Sumant Sinha, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of ReNew Power. "ReNew plans to manufacture both solar cells and modules in the Dholera manufacturing facility with the goal of creating a globally competitive manufacturing unit.

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HYDROGEN

h2e Power Systems, Hydrogen in Motion to develop hydrogen 3W Pune-based h2e Power Systems has announced that it is developing India's first totally integrated hydrogen fuel cell three-wheeler using proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) & innovative hydrogen cylinders in collaboration with Canada based company 'Hydrogen in Motion' under an IndoCanadian program funded by GITA (A public-private partnership between Technology Development Board, Department of Science & Technology, Government of India and CII).

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The hydrogen three-wheeler concept targeted inter-city public and goods transport integrating h2e's fuel cell technology with a low-cost and low pressure (50bar) hydrogen cylinder which is a path-breaking technology developed by Hydrogen in Motion, Canada. This innovative solution will bring a zero-emission public transport vehicle, which would be competitive on costs with other technologies. Speaking about the development, Sidharth R Mayur, Founder & Managing Director, h2e Power Systems said, "India is on the cusp of a big e-Mobility revolution, and we are moving fast from fossil-based mobility to batteries and Hydrogen. We are already producing Green Hydrogen from our Electrolysers and now developing a three-wheeler concept for inter-city public and goods transport using Green Hydrogen." Approved financial outlay over a five-year period Rs.crore

Sectors

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NITI Aayog and Department of Heavy Industries

Electronic Technology Products

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12195

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The Union Cabinet in November 2020 approved Production Linked Incentives (PLI) in 10 key sectors including Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) battery and solar PV module, under the Atmanirbhar Bharat (selfreliant India) vision. The greenfield facility will manufacture 2GW of solar cells and modules annually using advanced monocrystalline Passivated Emitter & Rear Contact (PERC) and large wafer technology and will implement best practices in line with Industry 4.0 manufacturing standards, ReNew Power stated. The new facility will be vertically integrated in terms of processes and infrastructure for the manufacturing facility. Currently, China accounts for about 80 percent of the world's solar module production and India's growing renewable energy companies are heavily dependent on China for the modules and cells. The Government of India with the view to strengthen domestic manufacturing announced PLI scheme last year to provide financial incentives to domestic manufacturing units and it is expected to help add 10 GW of integrated solar PV manufacturing capacity in the country. To cut reliance on imports GoI has also increased customs duties on imported components, which are expected to come into force beginning in April 2022. The latest announcement by ReNew Power intends to bring a crucial function in-house along with boosting India's domestic manufacturing capacity for clean energy. Renew Power is expected to commence operations of the new manufacturing facility from the fiscal year 2023.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Electric Vehicles

Umicore, BASF partner for cathode material innovations

U m i c o r e , the Belgiumheadquartered materials technology company, and BASF, a German multinational chemical company have entered into a non-exclusive patent crosslicense agreement encompassing a broad range of cathode materials. Cathode materials are critical for the performance and safety of lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles and other applications. It is important to note the latest agreement covers not only cathode materials but also their precursors including battery chemistries such as nickel manganese cobalt (NMC), nickel cobalt aluminum (NCA), nickel manganese cobalt aluminum (NMCA), and high manganese (HLM).

The relationship between cathode materials and precursors, and the development of these materials is significant given they are critical for maximizing battery cell performance. The landmark patent agreement will allow both the companies to combine a range of IP-protected technologies related to features

Umicore 3D open battery cell. Source: Umicore.

such as chemical composition, powder morphology, and chemical stability. The partnership is expected to enable both the companies to increase their product development needs and address crucial concerns facing e-mobility uptake pertaining to battery cost, safety, and performance. Additionally, it will also allow both Umicore and BASF an enhanced ability to customize their materials to meet increasingly diversified and complex customer requirements at the battery cell and application level. For years, the two partners have invested extensively in product innovation for low, medium, and high nickel precursors and cathode materials resulting in each company owning sizeable and largely complementary patent portfolios, Umicore stated in an official statement.

Oxford city to get superfast chargers hub Fastned, a developer of fast-charging infrastructure across Europe has teamed up with Oxford City Council, Pivot Power, Tesla and Wenea to build and operate one of the largest fast-charging stations at the upcoming Energy Superhub Oxford. Energy Superhub Oxford is a consortium of six partners led by Pivot Power, coming together to lower Oxford's carbon emissions and clean up its air. The plan for the hub is to install up to 50 charging points at Redbridge Park & Ride for public use, including a combination of ultra-rapid DC chargers and fast AC chargers catering for the full range of vehicles. The Fastned station is a part of the bigger Energy Superhub Oxford and will have up to 14 fast chargers, where electric vehicles can simultaneously charge with a speed of up to 300kW. In addition to Fastned chargers, the hub will have 12 Tesla superchargers and Wenea charging points. Pivot Power, a battery technology

company and an arm of EDF Renewable, will provide 10MW of renewable power and battery storage for future expansion. The share of fully electric vehicles among all newly registered cars

in the United Kingdom is increasing rapidly, growing from 1.7% in 2019 to 6.6% in 2020, as per Fastned. The Energy Superhub will come up in Oxford city's ring road and is due to open at the end of 2021.

A rendition of Energy Superhub Oxford. Source: Fastned.

| May–June 2021

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Ford, BMW boost investment in solid-state battery startup Ford Motor Co., BMW AG, and Volta Energy Technologies announced in May to invest $130 million in funding solid-state battery startup, Solid Power for further developing lowcost, longer range, and safer batteries for electric vehicles Through the latest Series B investment, BMW Group becomes

an equal equity owner with Ford and as the leading automakers seek to accelerate the development of solidstate vehicle battery technology alongside expanding its existing joint development agreements with Solid Power to secure all-solid-state batteries for future electric vehicles. According to Ford Motor's official

Solid Power's solid-state batteries use sulfide-based solid-state battery cells. Source: Ford Motors.

statement, both automakers will have separate joint development agreements with Solid Power to develop and test its battery technology so each can meet the independent engineering and manufacturing requirements of their respective future vehicles. Both Ford and the BMW Group will receive full-scale 100 Ah cells for automotive qualification testing and vehicle integration beginning 2022. At present, Solid Power produces 20-ampere hour (Ah) multi-layer allsolid-state batteries on the company's continuous roll-to-roll production line, which exclusively utilizes industry-standard lithium-ion production processes and equipment. The draw for Solid Power's sulfide-based solid-state battery cells is that it has demonstrated the ability to produce and scale next-generation all-solid-state batteries that are designed to power longer range, lower cost, and safer electric vehicles using existing li-ion battery manufacturing infrastructure.

Indonesian ride-hailing service provider Gojek to electrify its fleet by 2030 Ride-hailing service provider Gojek has announced its goal to make every car and motorcycle on its platform an electric vehicle (EV) by 2030. "Our target is to work with different players within the industry and government to reduce the cost of EVs to about 30 percent lower than internal combustion engine vehicles," said Kevin Aluwi, co-CEO of Gojek. Aluwi added he is eyeing to carry the ambitious plan through partnerships with manufacturers and favourable leasing arrangements. The company is in discussions to support the development of Indonesia's EV industry, comprising infrastructure development such as battery swap and charging stations. The country has already outlined its aim to start processing its rich

supplies of nickel laterite ore for use in lithium batteries as part of a

long-term goal of becoming a global EV hub.

Indonesian ride-hailing service provider, Gojek and its users. Source: Gojek Inc.

| May–June 2021

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Li-Cycle, Ultium Cells LLC to recycle battery scrap Li-Cycle Corp. has announced an agreement with Ultium Cells LLC, a joint venture of General Motors and LG Energy Solution to recycle up to 100 percent of the scrap generated by battery cell manufacturing at Ultium's Lordstown, Ohio battery cell plant. Li-Cycle will recover the raw materials contained in the scrap, transforming them into valuable products and helping contribute to the circular economy. As North America's electric vehicle (EV) production ramps up, Li-Cycle believes this recycling partnership will be an essential piece in closing the battery supply chain loop and enabling sustainable production of new EV batteries. When fully operational in 2022, the $2.3 billion Ultium Cells LLC plant in Lordstown will span three million square feet, with an annual capacity of approximately 35-gigawatt hours. Li-Cycle will enable Ultium Cells LLC to expand the materials it currently recycles and will play a key role in recycling efforts similar

to joint venture partner GM's zerowaste initiative by rerouting battery manufacturing scrap back into the supply chain through this multi-year contract. Using Li-Cycle's patented Spoke & Hub Technologies at facilities in the United States, Li-Cycle will transform Ultium's battery manufacturing scrap into new battery-grade

materials, including lithium carbonate, cobalt sulphate, and nickel sulphate, as well as other recycled materials that can be returned to the economy. This partnership is expected to be critical step forward in advancing our proven lithiumion resource recovery technology as a more sustainable alternative to mining

Image used for representation purpose only.

| May–June 2021

ABB to enable clean rail transport in Germany Global technology company ABB announced that it has won orders from Swiss-based rail vehicle manufacturer Stadler to enable energyefficient and sustainable transportation for operators in Berlin and Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany. As per the deal, ABB will supply its traction converters and lithium-ion

battery-based onboard energy storage systems. ABB traction converters and lithium-ion-based energy storage systems will be installed on 55 new BEMUs (bi-mode electric multiple unit), which is the single largest order for BEMUs worldwide, for local transport authority NAH.SH. The battery modules will be produced

55 new BEMUs (bi-mode electric multiple unit) of local transport authority NAH. SH will be equipped with traction converters and lithium-ion-based energy storage systems by ABB. Source: Stadler.

in ABB's semi-automated factory in Baden, Switzerland, and then combined into energy storage systems in the traction factory in Minden, Germany ABB stated. The new trains will be operated on a partially electrified network, where the longest non-electrified stretch of up to 80 km was served by diesel rolling stock until this point. The traction batteries will be charged while the vehicle is operating in the electrified section and at selected locations of the route. Additionally, the energy storage system can be charged with 400V or 1,000V depot supply.The company's traction technology has already proven to be helpful to Stadler in its already existing underground IK-type metro vehicles for Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) in Berlin. ABB confirmed the latest generation of traction converters will be installed on more than 600 new underground cars for BVG. Replacing the 30-year-old fleet with modern vehicles equipped with customized ABB technology.

Ford, SK Innovation’s JV to manufacture EV batteries Ford Motor Company and SK Innovation have signed an MoU to

Image used for representation only.

create a joint venture – to be called BlueOvalSK – to produce roughly

60 GWh annually in traction battery cells and array modules, starting mid-decade, with the potential to expand. This MoU is a key part of Ford’s plan to vertically integrate key capabilities that will differentiate Ford far into the future. The creation of the JV is subject to definitive agreements, regulatory approvals, and other conditions. Next-gen cells and arrays will be used to power several future Ford battery electric vehicles. Ford's global BEV plan calls for at least 240 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of battery cell capacity by 2030 – roughly 10 plants' worth of capacity. Approximately 140 GWh will be required in North America, with the balance dedicated to other key regions, including Europe and China.

May–June 2021 |

30 HYDROGEN

PowerCell, Hitachi ABB Power Grids work on fuel cell-based solutions PowerCell Sweden AB and Hitachi ABB Power Grids have signed an agreement regarding an in-depth collaboration around fuel cell-based stationary power solutions. The intention is to combine the two companies' technology and to market fuel

cell-based total solution offers that facilitate the transition to more sustainable energy production. The two companies will initially focus on complete, mobile container-based solutions with a power of up to 600 kW, and module-based stationary megawatt solutions, i.e., with a total power output of more than 1 000 kW. The generic fuel cell-based complete solutions including service offers will be marketed and sold jointly by the

Image used for representation purpose only.

companies. In June last year, PowerCell Sweden and Hitachi ABB Power Grids signed a memorandum of understanding regarding a collaboration around fuel cell-based stationary power solutions. The background is the increased demand for hydrogen-electric stationary power solutions that can complement renewable and volatile energy sources. The companies have since evaluated how to best combine respective company's technology into attractive complete solutions within hydrogen-electric stationary power. PowerCell's fuel cell systems and Hitachi ABB Power Grids' total solutions for grid connection will be the main building blocks.

Cummins to setup electrolyzer plant in Spain with Iberdrola Global power leader Cummins Inc. has announced that has partnered with Iberdrola, for one of the world's largest electrolyzer plants for the production of green hydrogen to be located in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. This investment in Spain comes on the heels of Iberdrola

and Cummins' decision to partner together on large-scale hydrogen production projects in Spain and Portugal. The companies have signed an agreement to accelerate the growth of business opportunities in the electrolyzer market of Iberia,

Image used for representation purpose only. | May–June 2021

promoting the green hydrogen value chain and making Spain a leader of this technology and industry. This alliance helps to position Cummins as a leading supplier of electrolyzer systems for large-scale projects in Iberia and Iberdrola as a leading developer of electrolyzer projects and hydrogen supplier to final industrial customers. A site selection search within the Guadalajara area of Castilla-La Mancha is currently underway for Cummins' new €50-million PEM electrolyzer plant that will house system assembly and testing for approximately 500 MW/year and will be scalable to more than 1 GW/ year. The facility, which will initially be 22,000 square meters, is anticipated to open in 2023. Cummins is rapidly growing its capabilities to provide hydrogen technologies at scale, which is critical to the world's green energy transition through the hydrogen economy. Cummins has deployed more than 600 electrolyzers in 100 countries globally.

IRENA, Siemens Energy ink agreement to advance the global energy transition The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has announced that it has signed a partnership

agreement with Siemens Energy targeted at advancing the global energy transition. Under the

Image used for representation purpose only.

agreement, the organisations will reinforce collaboration on the application of technology to advance and expand the transition to renewable energy globally. The comprehensive scope of collaboration extends to a variety of opportunities comprising developing the business case for green hydrogen as a major contributor to deep decarbonization, advancing joint efforts to encourage heat generation and industrial processes, decarbonizing hard to abate industries such as cement, steel, and petrochemicals, and enabling private sector investment in the renewables sector. IRENA and Siemens will also exchange knowledge and expertise on renewable electrification, comprising the development of roadmaps that prioritize communities and regions at present lacking access to modern energy.

Middle East gets its first solar-powered green hydrogen project Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and Siemens Energy have inaugurated the Middle East's first industrial-scale, solar-powered green hydrogen project. With power provided by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Solar Park (MBR), which at present has a capacity of 1,013MW, the pilot plant is anticipated to produce around 20.5kg of hydrogen per hour. Following two years of construction, DEWA now targets to use the project to demonstrate the

A rendition of solar-powered green hydrogen project. Source: Siemens Energy.

production of green hydrogen from solar power, as well as the storage and re-electrification of hydrogen. The plant has been built to house future applications and test platforms for the different uses of hydrogen, including potential mobility and industrial uses. Around 1,850MW of solar capacity is at present under construction at the MBR mega-project, which will reach 5GW when fully operational in 2030 and be the world's largest single-site solar plant. DEWA is set to commission the 300MW first stage of the fifth phase of the MBR solar park in July, which will have a capacity of 900MW and feature bifacial modules from JinkoSolar. The United Arab Emirates will host another green hydrogen project in Abu Dhabi that will see a consortium comprising Siemens Energy and Masdar initially look focus on producing green hydrogen for passenger cars and buses.

May–June 2021 |

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Energy Storage

Shell Energy and Edify to deliver a new battery project in Australia

Australia headquartered renewable energy development and storage investment company, Edify has joined hands with Shell Energy to deliver a new battery project in South West, New South Wales (NSW) in Australia. Located in the Murrumbidgee Shire, the Riverina Energy Storage System (RESS) is to be a 100MW / 200MWh lithium-ion battery that will connect to TransGrid's network. The RESS will add more flexible dispatchable capacity to the NSW market and complement the significant presence of renewable generation in the region. According to Edify, RESS will help meet the requirements of Shell Energy and the NSW Government, with Shell Energy signing a long-term services agreement to access operational rights to a 60MW/ 120MWh partition of the battery. This agreement is a key component of Shell Energy's success in securing a

long-term retail contract with the NSW Government as part of its Whole of Government process. The latest project is critical to meet the country's carbon emission reduction targets and rapidly increase the supply of renewable and secure energy available to the government, businesses, and consumers. Further,

according to Clean Energy Regulator data analyzed by energy efficiency experts from Australia's national science agency, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) Australia has installed its highest ever number of rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) panels in 2020.

An artistic rendition of Riverina Energy Storage System that will come up in Southwest, NSW. Source: Edify.

India, Argentina to cooperate for mineral resource The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will provide an institutional mechanism for cooperation for mineral resources between India and the Argentine Republic. An MoU to that effect is to be signed between the Ministry of

Mines, the Government of India, and the Secretariat of Mining Policy of the Ministry of Productive Development of the Argentine Republic. "The objectives of the MoU are to strengthen the activities involved like cooperation for encouraging minerals exploration and development, including extraction, mining,

Salinas Grandes mine, one of the largest lithium mines in Argentina. Source: Shutterstock. | May–June 2021

and beneficiation of lithium; possibilities of forming a joint venture in the field of base metals, critical and strategic minerals for mutual benefit," said the official press release from the Ministry of Mines, Govt. of India. The agreement will also include the exchange of technical and scientific information and interchange of ideas and knowledge, training and capacity building, and promotion of investment and development in the area of mining activities that would serve the objective of innovation. Given that Union Cabinet approved PLI scheme 'National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage in May, raw materials security for cell manufacturing is crucial, the latest MoU could help in meeting India's needs for lithium, necessary for battery manufacturing.

Mitsubishi Power, Powin LLC partner for BESS projects in Calif. Southern Power has announced that it has awarded Mitsubishi Power Americas, Inc. and Powin, LLC an order for two utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) projects totaling 640 megawatt-hours (MWh). The BESS projects are among the first collocated solar and storage

projects in California and represent some of the largest retrofits of solar and storage in North America to date. They are designed for a 20-year life cycle and four hours of energy storage duration. Southern Power's 205 megawatts (MW) Garland Solar Facility in Kern County will add 88 MW and 352

Energy storage project. Source: Mitsubishi Power Americas, Inc

MWh of energy storage, and its 204 MW Tranquility Solar Facility in Fresno County will add 72 MW and 288 MWh. Both projects are scheduled to come online in 2021. The energy storage projects will be owned in partnership with AIP Management and Global Atlantic Financial Group, both of which have existing ownership interests in the Garland and Tranquility solar facilities that went into commercial operation in 2016. Southern Power operates the solar projects and will be responsible for operating the energy storage projects upon completion. These projects will enhance California's grid reliability with additional flexible resource capacity for integrating intermittent renewable energy into the grid.

Wärtsilä commissions energy storage projects in Philippines The technology group Wärtsilä has announced that it has signed multiple energy storage contracts with SMC Global Power Holdings Inc. through its subsidiary, Universal Power Solutions Inc., in

Integrated Renewable Power HubToledo energy storage site, Philippines. Source: Wärtsilä Corporation

the Philippines during 2019-2020. The first two projects, Integrated Renewable Power Hub-Toledo and BCCPP, Limay, Bataan, have achieved final commissioning in May. The projects have a capacity of 20 MW / 20 MWh and 40 MW / 40MWh respectively and are part of the earlier announced energy storage orders. These are the first energy storage systems supplied by Wärtsilä to the Philippines. The projects are delivered on an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) basis, and include Wärtsilä's propriety software and hardware

solutions. The systems comprise the company's GridSolv Max system, a standardized energy storage solution that provides flexible and modular storage for the core hardware assets of the systems, including the batteries, a safety, and fire system, and inverters, alongside the advanced GEMS Digital Energy Platform. Wärtsilä has a strong presence in Southeast Asia with a total installed capacity of over 9,000 MW, of which 2,000 MW were executed as EPC deliveries, including approximately 300 MW of contracted energy storage systems.

Customized Energy Solutions India Pvt Ltd

A-501, G-O Square, Aundh-Hinjewadi Link Road, Wakad, Pune-411057. INDIA E: contact@indiaesa.info P: +91-20-2771 4000 E: contact@indiaesa.info

May–June 2021 |

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Northvolt, Fluence collaborate for sustainable battery technology Leading energy storage technology company, Fluence and European battery manufacturing major, Northvolt have announced to co-develop nextgeneration battery technology for gridscale storage applications.

As part of the agreement, Fluence also plans to purchase battery systems from Northvolt. The collaboration looks to develop Northvolt's battery hardware and battery management systems

Fluence energy storage systems. Source: Fluence.

optimized for Fluence energy storage solutions. Fluence intends to lower cost of ownership and create unique opportunities for its customers through digital intelligence, tightly integrated through the full product lifecycle from battery manufacturing to end-of-life. The agreement provides Northvolt with an unmatched channel to deliver systems to the global market and expands Fluence's supply chain to include the leading European-based battery manufacturer. Northvolt recently announced a $200 million investment to ramp up its stationary energy storage manufacturing capacity. Both Fluence and Northvolt are focused on decarbonizing battery supply chain. Northvolt is focused on developing the world' greenest battery, using clean power at its production facilities and is also developing advanced recycling capabilities for batteries.

Energy Vault obtains strategic investment from Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures Energy Vault, renewable energy storage products manufacturer has announced a new investment by Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV), the strategic technology investment program of global energy and integrated chemicals company Aramco. Energy Vault will use the funds to accelerate the global deployment of its technology, designed to enable

intermittent generation of renewable energy to be stored on a gigawatthour scale, both economically and sustainably, to deliver dispatchable electricity on demand. The value of the investment was not disclosed. Energy Vault's innovative technology was inspired by pumped hydroelectric power plants that rely on the power of gravity and the movement of

Energy Vault storage tower co-located with wind farm. Source: Energy Vault. | May–June 2021

water to store and discharge electricity. The blocks are combined with Energy Vault's proprietary system design and machine vision, AI-enabled software to operate a specially designed crane that uses proprietary technology to autonomously orchestrate the raising and lowering of the blocks, thus storing the potential energy at height and then discharging the electricity when the blocks are lowered, generating energy. Most importantly, the blocks are manufactured from the soil, sand, or local waste materials, including fossil fuel production waste results, such as coal combustion waste, and obsolete energy components, such as wind blades. Energy Vault's first commercial-scale 5 MW/35 MWh system reached mechanical completion in July 2020, while being connected to Switzerland's national utility grid. The system has since been used by Energy Vault customers around the world for direct application testing and ancillary service protocols.

Aggreko commissions Turkey's first grid-stabilizing battery storage project Aggreko, the Scotland-headquartered energy storage solutions provider announced that it has successfully commissioned Turkey's first grid-stabilizing battery storage system.

The 500 kilowatt, 1-hour lithiumion battery storage is expected to help the regional distribution system operator (DSO) enhance grid stability in its electricity network, helping Turkey's

Image used for representation purpose only.

power grid infrastructure, and supporting its network upgrade deferral. Currently, Turkey's power grid is facing growing and fluctuating power demand Aggreko noted. The grid also has stronger production volatility as more and more renewable energy systems make use of the country's ample wind and solar resources. Solar power accounts for around 4 percent of the country's energy mix at present, although there are ambitions for capacity to be doubled in 2021 the integration of the energy storage system in the grid is expected to lend it the much-needed flexibility and resilience in the existing power infrastructure and fill the gap towards cleaner and more efficient energy system.

DTEK launches Ukraine’s BASF, Shanshan JV to manufacture cathode active first industrial Li-ion energy storage system materials in China DTEK, a leading company in Ukraine's energy sector announced that it has launched Ukraine's first industrial lithium-ion energy storage system (ESS). The lithium-ion energy storage system is installed at the Zaporizhzhya Power Plant in the city of Energodar and has a capacity of 1 MW/2.25 MWh. The battery will serve to store and dispatch electricity to the grid, as well as maintain the functioning of Ukraine's power system. Through the launch of this pilot project, DTEK intends to implement new technologies and transform its business and build a new energy sector. For the energy storage pilot project, DTEK collaborated with Honeywell and SunGrid in July 2020. The company is also pioneering the national energy storage systems market with the intention of accelerating country's transition to clean energy.

DTEK launch of Ukraine’s first Li-ion ESS. Source: DTEK

BASF and Shanshan have announced that they have agreed to form a BASF majority-owned joint venture (BASF: 51 percent; Shanshan: 49 percent) to produce cathode active materials (CAM) and precursors (PCAM) in China. BASF will contribute its strength as a leading global CAM supplier to the automotive industry with strong technology and development capabilities, global operations footprint, as well as strategic partnerships for raw materials supply. By forming the intended joint venture in China, BASF further strengthens its position in Asia to build up an integrated, unique global supply chain for customers in China and worldwide, increasing its annual capacity to 160 kilotons by 2022 with further expansions underway. As one of the leaders in the Chinese CAM market, Hunan Shanshan Energy has supported the lithium-ion battery industry for more than 18 years. It is also the market leader in cathode materials globally. Through its extensive experience, it has a comprehensive product portfolio that covers the main categories of CAM and the corresponding PCAM used in lithium-ion batteries. It has formed a business value chain including raw materials, PCAM, CAM, and battery recycling. Hunan Shanshan Energy operates four production sites for CAM and PCAM in Hunan and Ningxia, China, with an annual capacity of 90 kilotons by 2022. Closing of the transaction is targeted for later this summer following the approval of the relevant Image used for representation purpose only. authorities. May–June 2021 |

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Toyota, JERA to recycle old EV batteries into energy storage for RE Toyota Motor has announced that it has agreed to collaborate with JERA, a joint fuel-procurement venture between Tokyo Electric Power and Chubu Electric Power, in a bid to transform old batteries used for electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles into a power storage system for renewable energy.

The new storage system will consist of a lithium-ion battery and a nickel-metal hydride battery. The two companies' objective is to establish a new technology that will facilitate storage batteries to operate more proficiently by combining different kinds of batteries.

Image used for representation purpose only.

Toyota and Jera will target developing the storage battery by the end of this fiscal year. Then, in fiscal 2022, the companies target to connect the storage to the power grid so that they can conduct technical verification for practical use. The system is projected to mainly be used for storing electricity generated by power plants using solar, wind, and other renewable sources. The amount of electricity generated by such power plants changes greatly depending on the weather. By being connected to renewable-energy power plants, the storage system can store and supply electricity flexibly according to the changing levels of supply and demand. The project comes as the number of used batteries from electric vehicles as well as hybrids is anticipated to jump over the coming years in Japan.

Rio Tinto, InoBat partners for Li-ion battery manufacturing, recycling in Serbia European battery technology and manufacturing company, Rio Tinto and InoBat have signed an MoU to work to fast-track the establishment of a "cradle-to-cradle" battery manufacturing and recycling value chain in Serbia. The partnership will cover the full commodity life-cycle from mining through to recycling of lithium. Rio Tinto's Jadar project in Serbia, one of the largest greenfield lithium projects in development, has

Image used for representation only.

the potential to produce approximately 55 thousand tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate in Europe, one of the world's largest growing electric vehicles markets. InoBat, a European-based battery manufacturer with a battery research and development facility and pilot plant being developed in Slovakia intends to scale up its future production, through gigafactories to be built in the EMEA region. InoBat's goal is to aid the European market with innovative energy solutions, including the production and recycling of electric vehicle batteries. The latest collaboration with InoBat will enable an important exchange of knowledge and information on lithium processing, recycling, and technologies for the next generation of batteries. It is envisioned the collaboration between Jadar and InoBat will also boost the development of

| May–June 2021

a complete European lithium and electric vehicle battery value chain that will harness and enhance local skills, environmental, social, and governance standards, and crossborder interactions for the benefit of Serbia and other European economies that wish to collaborate. In 2020, Rio Tinto approved an investment of almost $200 million to complete the final phase of the study at the Jadar project, which is expected to be finalized in 2021, with an investment decision to follow. The scale and high-grade nature of the Jadar deposit provide the potential for a mine to supply lithium products into the electric vehicle value chain for decades. If approved, construction of a mine to the highest environmental standards would take up to four years and would be a significant investment for Serbia with direct and indirect economic benefits to the Serbian economy.

Renewable Energy

EU, Japan to form Green Alliance for cooperation on climate change

The European Union (EU) and Japan have announced their intention to form a Green Alliance to accelerate climate and environmental actions committing to fully implement the Paris Agreement and achieve growth. In a joint statement issued by the EU and Japan during the EU-Japan Summit held on May 27, the two

The EU and Japan to form Green Alliance to accelerate environmental and climate actions. Source: The official EU website.

parties affirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation on protecting the environment, fighting climate change, and conserving biodiversity. As per the information on the official EU website, the Green Alliance will work on five priority areas: • Pursuing a cost-effective, safe and sustainable energy transition by adopting low-carbon technologies, including renewable energy, renewable hydrogen, energy storage, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage; • Strengthening environmental protection by promoting more sustainable, circular practices in production and consumption, and contributing to the global goal of protecting at least 30 percent of both land and sea in order to conserve biodiversity; • Increased regulatory cooperation and business exchange to drive global uptake of low-carbon

technologies and environmental solutions that will accelerate the global transition to climate-neutral economies; • Consolidating existing collaboration on research and development in the areas of decarbonization projects, renewable energy, and the bio-economy; and • Maintaining both parties' leadership on international sustainable finance to help converge on a definition of sustainable investments and ensure consistency and transparency about sustainability-related disclosures. To further accelerate the green transition, the two economies have stated they will be signing an MoU on hydrogen in Autumn this year. Additionally, the two partners will work together closely on the international stage to promote cooperation on climate action in developing countries.

Scatec, ACME Solar to develop 900 MW solar power plant in Rajasthan Scatec has announced that it has entered in a partnership with ACME in India, to accomplish a 900 MW solar power plant in the state of Rajasthan, India. The project holds a 25-year PPA with Solar Energy

Solar installations. Source: ACME Solar.

Corporation of India (SECI) secured in a tender in 2018. This is Scatec’s first project in India. In this partnership ACME brings value of local expertise, indigenous and cutting-edge technology

to execute large scale projects at affordable prices. The project has an estimated total CAPEX of $400 million, with 75 percent debt financing from an Indian state-owned lender. Scatec will hold a 50 percent economic interest in the project, while ACME will retain 50 percent. ACME will be the turn-key EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) provider for the project. Scatec will ensure delivery according to international standards, HSSE and E&S, as well as optimization of engineering, procurement, and operations of the plants. The annual production from the plant is expected to be 1,600 GWh. The construction is projected to start in 2021 with a planned conclusion in 2022.

May–June 2021 |

COVER STORY

"We consider [the factory] to be a product. The factory itself is the machine that builds the machine." – Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla.

Talking of giga factories we cannot but mention the very first set up by Tesla in Nevada USA (Gigafactory1), which in turn has paved the way for many more to come. Huge growth projection anticipated in the energy storage industry, specifically with regards to the growing EV demand, has made battery cell manufacturers look at large scale production ventures like giga factories. Let’s consider why we need them and what it takes to set up one.

| May–June 2021

Nishtha Gupta-Vaghela Consulting Editor ETN

hat actually is a giga factory? It is a large-scale manufacturing facility to primarily make battery cells for use in electric vehicles. The term ‘giga’ itself is indicative of a massive scale or number; in Greek it means ‘giant’ and in English refers to a unit of one billion. In general usage terms, it is an amplifier word that when used with another word increases its value or measure beyond standard – like gigabyte, gigahertz, gigawatt, gigaton, etc. So, using the term giga with factory amplifies its scale from standard to massive. Giga factories are massive plants that produce Li-ion batteries - the most popular technology platform for EVs. As per data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, the number of individual battery giga factories, in the pipeline over the next 10 years, increased from 118 in 2019 to 181 in 2020. Out of the 181, 88 are currently active and the rest in different stages of construction. The concept of a giga factory was first envisioned by Tesla, to primarily make battery cells for their own EVs. But Elon Musk’s vision was for the whole world to take on the project and make many more such megasized plants to fulfil the growing capacity needs of battery cells for the fast-growing electric vehicle and energy storage markets globally. Research shows that in 2010, the world production of Li-ion batteries was around 30GWh; in 2019 the market grew more than six times to 187GWh. According to Musk, the world needs at least 100 giga factories to fulfil the growing need for energy storage, and Tesla will not be able to set up that many. Bigger companies need to come together and think of investing in giga factories. Why do we need giga factories? With an accelerating growth in the EV market, an aggressive rise

in demand for Li-ion batteries is anticipated. In preparation of this imminent demand, cell manufacturers are swiftly planning to scale up their manufacturing capability, spanning over the next 5-15 years. As the size of the manufacturing plants gets bigger, production capacity increases, cost of battery cells and packs will also decline, giving further impetus to EV sales by driving down costs for EV manufacturers. Reports show that the global Li-ion battery market was valued at $30,186.8 million in 2017, and is projected to reach $100,433.7 million by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 17.1 percent from 2018 to 2025. The growing automotive industry is the single most factor that has significantly contributed to the market growth. According to an article in the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies journal, ‘Technological improvements, falling costs, and increasing prevalence are driving the creation of a global lithium-ion economy. Li-ion batteries are the enabling technology for the 21st century automotive industry and will be a disruptive technology for the energy and utility sectors—the first widespread energy storage to couple with increasing production of wind and solar power. Those that control these supply chains will control the balance of industrial power for the remainder of this technological cycle, which could last well into the 22nd century.’ Governments around the world are beginning to fathom this and are making policy changes to meet the accelerating global demand and take advantage of the Li-ion economic changes. Majority of the countries are making a shift to green and sustainable sources of energy, and storage is key to this energy transition, both on the grid and in transportation. Planning a giga factory set up Setting up a giga factory requires an investment of anywhere between $2 billion to $5billion, depending upon the site or country where it is to be located. Selecting a site is a crucial step in setting up a mega plant. There are many factors to be considered:

- Choose a logistically favorable area, to ease the process of transporting material and products - Check geographical and climatic factors, avoiding hilly and rough terrain and areas having seismic activity. - Preferably choose a location that has warm and sunny weather, ideal condition to tap into renewable energy if required, bringing down the carbon footprint of the factory in the long run. - Factory site should be easily connected to established modes of transportation like roads and railways. - Since a massive area will be required to set up the factory, look for low-cost land with low property tax. - Easy accessibility to different power sources is a must. - Most important is a conducive political environment, with policies that favor the manufacturing business. Ease of doing business is of great importance; sometimes a location has to be turned down just because of bureaucratic hassles. - The tax structure and the laws of the Country or State should be favorable and business-friendly. Apart from the obvious space requirement, Li-ion battery production in giga factories is also dependent on complex supply chain of the essential raw materials. Some of the key factors in setting up a giga plant include workforce, machinery, and raw material. Battery manufacturing is a complex industry that requires technical, legal as well as business knowledge. The setting up starts with a business plan, that includes the requisite licenses and permits required to operate a battery plant. The legal and technical requirements depend on the Country/State where the factory will be based. Other things to consider are manufacturing process requirements like raw material, machinery, vacuum/ dry rooms, etc. It is important to build a network of vendors for the supplies and equipment that will be needed. For requirement of importing certain

May–June 2021 |

Layout of Li ion Manufacturing Plant - 1 GWh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DReeqKQSJ4

The total plant area comes out to approximately 15,425 m2 and the total capital cost of equipment only is approximately 117 million $. These numbers are calculated for a 1 GWh plant.

Typical layout of a 1 GWh Li-ion cell manufacturing plant. Source: IESA & CES analysis.

crucial elements and chemicals, the additional cost of duties and transportation should be factored in. In addition to these, there are manpower requirements that include hiring qualified people with skills specific to cell manufacturing. The facility should comply with OSHA guidelines and other regulations, with the insurance paperwork in place.

tweaks. Hence, the transactional stage between two technologies will be smooth for the battery industry as a whole [The report jointly prepared by Customized Energy Solutions (CES) and the World Resources Institute (WRI) is on ‘State of EV Battery Technology R&D and Manufacturing in India’]

Impact of changing battery chemistries One of the main concerns among industry players is whether new emerging chemistries in this space will cause existing manufacturing facilities to become redundant. According to a report jointly prepared by CES and WRI, this is not much of a concern for two main reasons. Firstly, it takes at least 8-10 years for results shown in lab-prototypes to translate to commercial prototypes, in the best case, and then it takes another 3-5 years at least to increase scale of manufacturing to reach reasonable costs. Secondly, the manufacturing process of Li-ion cells is largely invariant across chemistries. This means that the evolving landscape of new materials does not necessarily pose any threat of obsolescence to the existing cell manufacturing facilities, as the facilities can be tweaked to adapt to new chemistries. The report states that the intermittent chemistries between Li-ion and solid state are developed with the intention of using the existing manufacturing lines with minimal

Global giga factory scenario The giga factory projects are fast becoming a reality all over the world, following the wake of the Tesla Gigafactories. According to BloombergNEF, by 2025, an increase of more than 300 percent in installed capacity worldwide is expected to reach ~1,769 GWh. China will continue to lead the market (with a share of ~63 percent), Europe will be second with a share of ~15 percent (representing a capacity of ~265 GWh), with

Source: en:former

| May–June 2021

the USA being third with total share moving to ~9 percent, with an estimated capacity of almost 159 GWh. Research reports have shown that over 70 percent of Li-ion cell production is found in Asia (China, Japan, South Korea). China being the clear leader, major investments here are by BYD, LG Chem, Panasonic, CATL, Boston Power, and others. E-mobility is driving the growth for Li-ion batteries the world over; while most of these companies are also OEMs that produce for requirement in their own EVs, cell makers such as LG Chem and Panasonic produce for the automotive market. Some of the key players operating in the global Li-ion battery market include Automotive Energy Supply Corporation, Panasonic Corporation, Samsung SDI, LG Chem Power (LGCPI), LITEC, A123 Systems, Toshiba Corporation, Hitachi Chemical, China BAK Battery, GS Yuasa International, Tesla, Johnson Controls International, Saft Batteries, and BYD Company. India’s giga factory aspirations

The Indian automobile industry accounts for nearly 7.1 percent of the national GDP. However, India has set itself an ambitious target of having only EVs on the road by 2030. This is expected to bring about a significant increase in the demand for Li-ion batteries in India, and the battery market is expected to grow at a robust CAGR of 29.26 percent during the forecast period of 2018-2023.

Source: CicEnergiGune

Source: MERICS Research

Reports suggest that domestically, India’s projected need is of six gigawatt-scale plants of 10 GWh each by 2025 and 12 by 2030. Presently, India is planning to build at least four giga factories for cell manufacturing, with an investment of around $4

billion. Government policy thinktank Niti Aayog is pushing the development of the factories of 10 GWh. Some of the major companies planning to set up cell manufacturing plants in India include Exicom Tele-Systems, Samsung

SDI, Panasonic Corporation, Tata Chemicals, and Nexcharge Inc. According to Rahul Walawalkar, President – India Storage Energy Alliance, government has taken steps wherein duties on components imported from outside India will be increased in a phased manner, to enable those who are investing in India for manufacturing to get an idea of the market. With the announcement of the ACC PLI Scheme by the government recently, it is expected that more companies will come forward to set up cell manufacturing plants in India, completing the cycle of self-reliance. Mr. Walawalkar believes that private players need to show faith in the market and that there was a need for at least two or three large Indian conglomerates to take the initiative to match the government’s vision, and get involved in partnership with global leaders and take the necessary steps. A trend that is being witnessed globally.

May–June 2021 |

COVER STORY

Cathode - the energy source of a Li-ion battery Cathode is the energy source of a lithium-ion battery. Building strong supply chains, such as cathode and anode plants, and securing supply of critical raw materials will be crucial for the rise of giga factories.

Product sample in lab. Image source: BASF.

hen it comes to ICEvehicles, the central driving force of the vehicle is the engine but in EVs, batteries are the heart of the vehicle. One of the key components that lies at the core of the EV battery is the cathode. Cathode is often referred to as the energy source of a lithiumion battery. In a cathode, lithium and oxygen meet to form lithium oxide. When the battery is being charged the Li-ion is pulled out of cathode and travels to the anode and when the battery is being used (or discharged) the Li-ion returns to the cathode and electricity is produced during this process. Due to the chargedischarge process, Li-ion batteries are reusable and therefore also termed as secondary-cell batteries or rechargeable batteries.

Key Components of Cell

A Li-ion cell is made up of four major components: Cathode, anode, electrolyte, and separator. Source: IESA and CES Analysis.

| May–June 2021

43 Types of cathode materials Cathode materials in a Li-ion battery are critical as they determine the characteristics of a battery such as its capacity and output. The batteries capacity and voltage are determined based on what type of active material is used in the cathode. Lithium, oxygen, and other metals can meet to form various combinations. Further, various cathode materials with different characteristics can be formed depending on the type of metal and proportion used. Therefore, there are several materials for the cathode. The main factor influencing choice of material are cycle life, energy density, cost and availability of materials, power to energy ratio, safety, and temperature of operation. Among the numerous combinations of cathode materials, five combinations have been determined to produce the best performance as a battery. Regardless of the battery chemistry, lithium is required in all cathode materials. These five different types of cathode materials are: lithium cobalt oxide (LCO), lithium iron phosphate (LFP), lithium manganese oxide (LMO), lithium nickel manganese cobalt (NMC), and lithium, nickel, cobalt, aluminum (NCA). 1. LCO – It is a cathode material composed of lithium, cobalt, and oxygen. On account of its low energy density, it is not often used for batteries in electric vehicles but is widely used in Li-ion batteries for portable electronics like smartphones. This chemistry gives good performance and is relatively safe, but due to the high cobalt content, it is also expensive and therefore, not used in EV applications. 2. LFP – It is a cathode material composed of lithium, iron, phosphoric acid, and oxygen. Given that it uses iron, it is low-cost and safer than other cathode chemistries, but LFP is also heavy and has lower energy capacity. They find use in passenger vehicles especially for shorter range and lower cost. 3. LMO – It is a cathode material

Li-ion: Performance Comparison of Different Chemistries

Performance comparison of different Li-ion battery chemistries. Source: IESA & CES analysis.

composed of lithium, manganese, and oxygen. As it uses manganese it is inexpensive but at the same time is also vulnerable to high temperature. LMO batteries were used in the first-EVs such as Nissan Leaf, on account of its high reliability and relative low-cost. 4. NMC – It is a cathode material composed of lithium, nickel, manganese, cobalt, and oxygen. Simply put, it is LCO with nickel and manganese added. The proportion of cobalt within LCO was reduced to make room for nickel and cobalt. The proportion of nickel, cobalt, and manganese is usually 1:1:1 in NCM but recently R&D in progress are looking to increase nickel content for increased energy density while decrease cobalt, which is expensive. Cathode material with more than 60 percent nickel is also called high nickel. It is a cathode material with high energy density due to the higher nickel proportion which creates strong and instantaneous energy. 5. NCA – It is a cathode material composed of lithium, nickel, cobalt, aluminum, and oxygen. It is an LCO with nickel and aluminum added. Usually nickel, cobalt and aluminum are in 8:1:1 proportion. NCA cathode materials have a high proportion of nickel hence they are high in energy density have low stability. Therefore, they are used in smaller batteries rather than midto large-sized batteries. Reports

suggests, these were first commercial attempts to substitute some of the expensive cobalt in the LCO cathode by increasing the nickel content. When it comes to cathodes for lithium-ion batteries, the leading battery manufacturers commonly use combination of NMC or NCA. Leading cathode material companies At present China produces over two-third of global supply of cathodes from over 100 facilities (Benchmark). Anode Material-Leading Companies Company Name

Country

BTR New Energy Materials Inc.

China

Showa Denko Materials

Japan

Jiangxi Zichen Technology Co.,Ltd

China

Shanshan Technology

China

Guangdong Kaijin New Energy Technology Co., Ltd

China

POSCO Chemical

South Korea

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation

Japan

Shenzhen XFH Technology Co Ltd

China

Zhongke Shinzoom Co. Ltd

China

Source: SNE Research

May–June 2021 |

Researcher controlling the pilot scale reactor in BTBM, Japan. Source: BASF.

In Q2 last year, leading cathode material producers Umicore, POSCO, BASF made announcements expanding their cathode capacity further in Asia and Europe to meet rising demand in 2022-23. • In June 2020, Umicore, the European special chemicals and recycling company a €125 million ($140 million) loan from the European Investment Bank to finance its battery cathode materials production site in Nysa, Poland. This move is part of the European Commission’s wider push supply chain push will help the company expand its cathode footprint in Europe. As per reports (Benchmark Minerals) Nysa plant has two NCM (nickel cobalt manganese) lines under construction. The first line with a capacity of 10,000 tpa is due to begin production in 2022. Following which, a second highnickel line is due by 2023, taking total capacity to 25,000 tpa. In addition to its capacity expansion in Europe, the group also has a further 8,000 tpa of NCM 811 capacity due to come online in

China in 2022. • In June 2020, BASF announced the construction on its precursor cathode active material (PCAM) plant in Harjavalta, Finland. The company secured the construction permits to start building a new cathode active material (CAM) plant in Schwarzheide, Germany, with both plants on schedule to start operations in 2022. As per reports, the plants are planned to have enough combined capacity to supply cathode active battery materials for around 400,000 full EVs per year. • In 2020, POSCO announced to begin commercial production of NCMA cathodes (nickel cobalt manganese aluminum). The South Korean cathode material giant current capacity expansions plans are focused towards NCM cathode chemistries, but it plans to move into NCMA since 2018. The company aims to have a 20 percent share of the cathode market by 2030. Cathode materials cost and latest R&D Cathodes makes up roughly 40-45 percent (nearly half) of the material cost of the battery. Primary reason for this being: cobalt. Cobalt is one of the most expensive and least abundantly available components in cathodes. Leading battery manufacturers like LG Chem use NCM as their preferred cathode material. Cathode materials are being researched and developed at LG Chem Advanced Materials Company. At present six different types of NCM are being developed: One of which is a high nickel cathode material NCM712, which has nickel, cobalt, manganese in a proportion of 7:1:2. Second is the recently developed of cathode material NCMA, which

| May–June 2021

is NCM with aluminum added for additional stability and it will go in production soon. Companies around the globe are investing in R&D to discover which formulation of nickel, cobalt, manganese, and lithium would be best for improving battery performance. For instance, LG Chem in July 2019 announced to invest more than 500 Korean won ($424.03 million) to build a factory until 2024 for cathode material production for Li-ion batteries in the fifth national industrial complex of the Gumi City in South Korea. Additionally, there is research underway to explore cobalt-free, long-lasting and safer cathode materials. For instance, in July 2020, researchers from the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin (Arumugam Manthiram, a professor in the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering and director of the Texas Materials Institute, Ph.D. student Steven Lee and Ph.D. graduate Wangda Li) reported that they had found a way to develop cobalt-free high-energy lithium-ion battery, eliminating the cobalt and reducing the costs of producing batteries while boosting performance. The team reported a new class of cathodes and formed TexPower a startup that aims to commercialize the world’ first cobalt-free, high-energy, drop-in cathode materials for lithiumion battery (LIB) manufacturers across the U.S. and beyond. In conclusion, every single component of the Li-ion battery is important as it cannot function with any one of the components missing. Cathode along with the anode determines the basic performance of a battery.

45 example, in Japan, we have BASF - TODA battery materials, catering to growing demand for high nickel cathode active materials in the region. Also, very recently, we have announced a JV with Ningbo Shanshan, which is currently subject to approvals form relevant authorities. This is an important milestone for our company in expanding the company footprint in China and creating synergies globally.

Emerging Technology News (ETN) spoke to Jay Yang, Vice President Battery Materials Asia Pacific of BASF, one of the leading cathode material companies for Li-ion batteries.

Please shed some light on BASF's cathode products. Cathode materials are indeed one of the most important components of LIB (lithium-ion batteries) for various applications. It is a critical part of the value chain and responsible for around 50 percent of the value addition in batteries. Also, it is a major contributor for battery efficacy and performance. Currently, we at BASF offer all the important cathode active materials to customers globally, including LCO, NCM/NCA, NCMA (nickel, cobalt, manganese and aluminum), etc. With these products we serve the electronics the growing EV sector. With global automakers embracing the transition to vehicle electrification, innovation in the advanced battery materials space also acts as an imperative measure for our company's growth. We have R&D in place for new manganese rich chemistry-based products, that are expected to contribute more value to the growing LIB market. What are some of the markets BASF supplies at present and are there new markets that you plan on entering?

We are spread across all major regions and aim to expand our facilities in the US, EU, China, and Japan by 2022. These would be catering to local demand centers as well as India. Nevertheless, tracking the main demand centers globally for our materials and providing solutions internationally is always on our checklist for conducting business expansion activities in future. What are BASF’s plans for creating value for LIB manufacturers? BASF caters to a huge customer base in various application areas. The requirements are unique and spread across various parameters, be it energy storage, density, safety, efficacy, efficient product life cycle or cost-effectiveness. Therefore, we try to provide custom/tailor-made product chemistries to achieve customer satisfaction and strive to do so in future as well.

Name some of the major clients for your products. BASF is serving all major OEMs and has maintained good relations with the automotive vendors. We examine several options from time to time, in various regions to further expand our production network and enhance customer support services. Our strategy remains simple: We invest where our customers are. What your opinions on ACC battery storage program approved by the Union Cabinet earlier in May? Yes, it is very interesting to learn about the openness of Indian government to identify new opportunities in battery storage space and providing incentives to the manufacturers. India is well positioned to be a high growth market for future EV sales. Therefore, this program will turn out to be a very positive platform to build a strong foundation for the automotive sector, especially to drive EV market growth in India.

Please share more on partnerships through which BASF intends to continue innovation in battery materials? BASF has a global presence which is strengthened further through its regional JVs and partnerships. For

Shraddha Kakade Assistant Editor ETN

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May–June 2021 |

COVER STORY

Copper foil coating process. Source: DNK Power

Anode materials for Li-ion batteries For effective development of a high energy density battery, the use of high capacity electrode materials (anode and cathode) is an essential factor.

s per reports, the global anode material for automotive lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery market is anticipated to generate a revenue of $1,348.6 million by 2030, increasing from $707.2 million in 2019, progressing at a 5.7 percent CAGR during the forecast period (2020-2030).

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Anode material in Li-ion battery

The anode materials are the negative electrode in Li-ion batteries and are paired with cathode materials in a Li-ion cell. The anode materials in Li-ion cells act as the

host where they reversibly allow Li-ion intercalation / deintercalation during charge / discharge cycles. Anode materials make up 10-18 percent of the cost of materials for Li-ion battery. The anode in the battery deserves an equal say in the overall performance of a battery. For the effective development of a high energy density battery, the use of high capacity electrode materials (anode and cathode) is an essential factor. General benchmarks for selection of suitable intercalationbased anode materials comprise: • low first cycle irreversible loss • high coulombic efficiency • fast Li-ion diffusion into and out of the anode • h i g h i o n i c a n d e l e c t r o n i c conductivity • minimum structural changes upon charge and discharge • high specific capacity (mAh/g) • the ability to form and maintain a stable SEI (Solid Electrolyte Interface) layer upon cycling.

| May–June 2021

Types of anode material Anode materials fall into three types: • carbon materials (graphite-based) • metallic oxide materials and • alloy materials Lithium titanium oxide (LTO) leads the pack:

Lithium titanium oxide (LTO) for Li-ion Battery Anode. Source: MTI Corporation

The most commonly used anode material is graphite. Lithium titanium oxide (LTO) is an alternative anode that is already commercialized. LTO is safer than graphite anode and more suitable for high power applications

Anode Material-Leading Companies

LTO (lithium titanate oxide)

Graphite

Silicon

Type

Intercalation

Alloying

Company Name

Country

Theoretical capacity mAh/g

175

330

4200

BTR New Energy Materials Inc.

China

Voltage vs Li/ Li+ (V)

1.5

0.1

Showa Denko Materials

Japan

Current collector

Aluminium

Copper

Jiangxi Zichen Technology Co.,Ltd

Safety issues

Volume expansion (up to 300%), poor cycling ability

China

Main disadvantages

Low voltage & low energy density cell

Shanshan Technology

China

Guangdong Kaijin New Energy Technology Co., Ltd

China

POSCO Chemical

South Korea

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation

Japan

Shenzhen XFH Technology Co Ltd

China

Zhongke Shinzoom Co. Ltd

China

Comparison of the properties of some typical anodes. Source: Practical Electron Microscopy and Database Book

Lithium Titanate/lithium titanium oxide (Li4Ti5O12, spinel, “LTO”) is an electrode material with exceptional electrochemical stability. It is often used as the anode in lithium-ion batteries for applications that require a high rate, long cycle life and high efficiency. LTO-based batteries are considered safer and have a wider operating temperature range. Lithium titanate has emerged as a promising anode material for Li-ion batteries. The use of lithium titanate can improve the rate capability, cyclability, and safety features of Li-ion cells. The advantages of Lithium Titanate Oxide (lithium titanium oxide) battery technology are significant and the whole LTO technology is a game-changer for the entire battery industry. The LTO is bringing a new dimension of possibilities for energy storage with a number of economical as well as ecological aspects.

Latest R&D on the component

India: Scientists at the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), an autonomous R&D Centre of the Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India, in collaboration with the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, IIT Madras has developed a novel anode material for lithium-ion battery (LIB) for electric vehicles (EVs).

This high-performance and sustainable anode made of a composite material of α-MoO3 and single-walled carbon nanostructures called carbon nanohorns (SWCNHs) showed high energy/power density, fast-charging capability, and long cycle life. The SWCNHs are carbon nanostructures composed of thousands of carbon nanocones and typically exist as spherical aggregates of 80–100 nm in diameter. The composite is considered low-cost and environmentally friendly due to its abundance and non-toxic elements present in the composite. Canada: Canada-based HPQ Silicon Resources, PyroGenesis Canada and the Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Centre (ETM) of the Institut National de Recherche Scientifique (INRS) have set up a research project focused on the development of silicon (Si)-based materials as active anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. Europe: As the next step towards large-scale production, Elkem is establishing Vianode as a new company and a brand dedicated to develop and produce sustainable and high quality active anode materials to meet the needs of the exponentially growing electric vehicles marketplace. "Today, anode materials are one of the largest greenhouse gas emission contributors in battery cell production.

Source: SNE Research

Vianode intends to reduce emissions from this part of the battery materials value chain by more than 90 percent compared to conventional production", says Stian Madshus, Vice President and General Manager Europe at Vianode.

Leading global players

The global anode material for the automotive lithium-ion battery market is fragmented in nature, with the presence of main players such as: • Nippon Carbon Co. Ltd. • Targray Technology International Inc. • NEXEON Limited • Ningbo Shanshan Co. Ltd. • Jiangxi Zichen Technology Co. Ltd. • JFE Chemical Corporation • XG Sciences Inc. • Bertree New Materials Group Co. Ltd.

May–June 2021 |

To learn more about the Indian anode market development, ETN spoke to a few of the industry pioneers who are leading in the segment:

Anurag Choudhary, Managing Director & CEO, Himadri Speciality Chemical Ltd

Sumit Garg, Business Head, Advanced Materials Business, Epsilon Carbon

Technology R&D for anode materials Himadri’s indigenously developed technology, as well as inhouse facility, enables flexibility to manufacture customized material to suit customer needs. The company is one of the very few globally to develop this advanced carbon material.

Anurag Choudhary Managing Director & CEO, Himadri Speciality Chemical Ltd

Anode offerings for the industry Himadri manufactures highquality synthetic variants of Meso Coke (hereinafter referred to as coke) used as the feed material for the anode material in li-ion battery.

R&D strategy for enhancing anode materials The company has a commercial production capacity of 3,000 MT per annum which is being expanded to 20,000 MT per annum. It also boasts of state of an art manufacturing facility, NABL accredited laboratory as well a world-class global team of researchers and managers. Importance of high-performance anode materials in Li-ion batteries Himadri’s coke is suitable for

Mitsubishi Chemical India Pvt Ltd

delivering an anode material capacity of 355-360 mAH/g and a 1st cycle efficiency of more than 90 percent which contributes to facilitating a high-performance battery manufacturing ecosystem globally. Development plans for the anode market Himadri is committed to supplying superior and uniform quality to its customers across the globe. The company will also contribute to the Indian government’s vision to reduce oil imports and support the cause of zero-emission around the country and globe. Himadri will also contribute to ‘input localization’ targeted in the PLI scheme recently announced by the govt. of India. Importantly, Himadri plans to develop additional anode materials capacity of 1 lakh tonne by 2025.

Mitsubishi Chemical India Pvt. Ltd Anode offerings for the industry We offer formulated anode materials for rechargeable lithiumion batteries. Technology R&D for anode materials We are working on developing anode materials of high power, high safety, high voltage, and high durability characteristics. Market share in the industry Mitsubishi Chemical has a high

share in the natural graphite category, especially for the mobility segment. R&D strategy for enhancing anode materials We are working on enhancing natural graphite anode material based on customer feedback and application requirements. Importance of high-performance anode materials in Li-ion batteries The high-performance anode

| May–June 2021

material will offer high energy density, high durability, fastcharge capability and contribute to Greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction by long battery life. Development plans for the anode market The company has launched a new type of natural graphite MPG (Mitsubishi Power Graphite) which has good power performance and longer cycle capability.

Sumit Garg, Business Head, Advanced Materials Business, Epsilon Carbon

Anode offerings for the industry: Epsilon Advanced Material aspires to be a leading manufacturer of advanced cell chemistry materials in the fast-growing LiB material space. Below flow chart explains our offerings to the market. We currently produce Bulk Mesocoke, which is a precursor to anode material, on a commercial scale of 2,500 TPA capacity. We sell this material to Anode makers based out of China, Japan, and Europe. For synthetic graphite, we have a pilot facility. We also have a pilot facility for natural graphite. Going forward we will be offering multiple products to our customers as a fullfledged anode maker. We are already in the process of qualifying our synthetic graphite with globally top-tier cell companies. Our aim is by 2023 to start commercial supply commercial of synthetic anode We have also entered into MoU with Finland based Graphite miner to set up a JV in Finland to process Natural Graphite flakes to Spherical Purified Graphite to be used as Anode material. Globally we are the only company that has a full backward integration from raw coal tar to an Anode maker (in the LIB supply chain).

Silicon-graphite anode material. Source: Epsilon Carbon

Technology R&D for anode materials: We use coal tar as a raw material to make our anode materials. Coal tar has lower sulphur content, therefore lower SOX/NOX emissions. We have developed and use patented technology, which is developed in-house to process coal tar pitch into Bulk Mesocoke. Globally industry relies heavily on petroleum-based feedstock as raw material and we will be amongst the very few who have developed coal-based technology to produce consistent, high-quality materials. For the rest of the process of processing Bulk Mesocoke into Synthetic graphite, we use the tried & tested technology and equipment that is used by the most reputed global anode makers. We position ourselves as a complete solution provider for the Anode material requirement of LiB batteries. With the technical expertise & know-how, we are well-positioned to provide Synthetic Graphite and Natural Graphite both by using thermal purification which is Zero discharge technology thereby making us produce material with a strong focus on ESG parameters. Market share in the industry: Currently, China controls over 70 percent of global natural graphite supply & over 85 percent of synthetic graphite supply. Since the ecosystem for cell manufacturing in India is yet to develop, Epsilon would focus on the export market, primarily Europe and NA in the short term. However, in the long term, as the Indian market matures then we will allocate a part of our capacity to support Indian battery manufacturing. Our long-term vision is to reach a scale of 100,000 MT synthetic anode volume and around 50,000 MT of Natural graphite anodes. Considering, an enormous amount of capacity being planned in Giga factories globally, we believe for markets other than China, we can capture a market share in the range of 8-10 percent.

capabilities and to develop cuttingedge materials that our customers may need. We will do this thru – • Continue to invest in in-house R&D infrastructure and manpower • Collaborating with research institutes/technology startup/govt. institutes globally. Silicon in the last several years has generated high interest as one of the most promising anode doping materials for lithium-ion batteries due to its high theoretical lithium storage capacity. Epsilon is already conducting lab scale trials and expects to come up with its series of Silicon composite anode materials by 2022-23. Importance of high-performance anode materials in Li-ion batteries: Epsilon produces various grades of synthetic graphite with properties, designed to meet our customer’s specific requirements that are suitable for a long cycle, high power, and high energy batteries. These highperformance parameters make them suitable for widespread applications like portable electronic, electrical tools especially in Electric Vehicles (EVs). An important factor in increasing the energy density of LIBs is the choice of efficient electrodes since energy density and cycle life strongly depend on the nature of the electrode material. Our anode materials align well with multiple types of electrodes. Development plans for the anode market: We plan to ramp up our precursor capacity to 15,000 MT by mid-2022 and then gradually to a capacity of 50,000 TPA of precursor capacity and 37,000 TPA of synthetic anode material by 2025. By 2030, we plan to have capacities of 100,000 MT of the synthetic anode and 50,000 MT of natural graphite. To achieve this scale, we plan to invest `5,000 – 6,000 crore till 2030 in the business.

R&D strategy for enhancing anode materials: Our strategy is to continue to be at the forefront of strengthening our R&D May–June 2021 |

Moulin Oza Assistant Editor ETN

COVER STORY

Separator – Ensuring battery safety and reliability Acting as a mechanical barrier between the cathode and anode, separator serves an important cell safety function and allows maximum ionic exchange in the Li-ion battery cell. Separators – Leading Companies Country

Celgard

Sumitomo Chemicals Co. Ltd

Japan

SK Innovation Co. Ltd

South Korea

Toray Industries Inc

Japan

ENTEK Membranes

Asahi Kasei Corp

Japan

Ube Industries Ltd

Japan

DuPont

Applied Material

Foshan Jinhui High-Tech Optoelectronic Material Co., Ltd.

China

Source: CES and IESA Analysis. Note: This is not an exhaustive list.

The four components of Li-ion battery. Source: Samsung SDI.

separator, as the name suggests, separates the two building blocks of a battery, the cathode and the anode while enabling exchange of lithium-ions from one side to another. Although separators are electrochemically inactive components in a Li-ion cell, they play an active role in determining cell safety. Separator is typically a nonconductive, permeable membrane which allows ions to pass through from cathode to anode when the battery is being charged and the reverse when the battery is being discharged. The permeable pores of the membrane allow ions to travel freely, but it also acts as an electric insulator which prevents cathode and anode from short circuiting.

Company Name

Scanning electron micrograph showing ENTEK separator Source: ENTEK

Separator characteristics and its role The Li-ion separator must have pore size ranging from 30 to 100nm (Nm stands for nano-meter, 10-9, which is one millionth of a millimeter or about 10 atoms thick). The recommended porosity is 30–50 percent. This holds enough liquid

| May–June 2021

electrolyte and enables the pores to close should the cell overheat (Battery University). At present, commercially available Li-ion cells use polyolefin as a separator. Polyolefin has excellent mechanical properties, good chemical stability and is low-cost. It is a class of polymer that is produced from olefin by polymerizing olefin ethylene. Ethylene comes from a petrochemical source; polyolefin could be made from polyethylene, polypropylene, or laminates of both materials. At present, commercialized separators are synthetic resin such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). The different polypropylene layers give different functionality to the separator. The layers have a break-down mechanisms that shuts the pores in an event of

Schematic drawing of Li-ion battery showing the separator and electrode arrangement. Source: ENTEK

thermal runaway thus insulating the cell. Shutdown results from collapse of the pores in the separator due to melting and viscous flow of the polymer, thus slowing down or stopping ion flow between the electrodes. Nearly all Li-ion

Li-ion separator cost and leading players Ty p i c a l l y, L i - i o n s e p a r a t o r accounts for 10 – 15 percent of cell component costs strongly depending on the specific cell design. At present the Asia-Pacific region dominates Li-ion battery separator market and the market is fragmented with several players. Some of the major players operating in this market include Asahi Kasei Corp. (Japan), Toray Industries Inc (Japan), Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd (Japan), SK Innovation Co. Ltd (South Korea), Celgard LLC (US), Ube Industries Ltd (Japan), ENTEK International (US), DuPont (US), Applied Material (US), Foshan Jinhui High-Tech Optoelectronic Material Co., Ltd. (China) and others.

battery separators contain polyethylene as part of a singleor multi-layer construction so that shutdown begins at ~135 °C, the melting point of polyethylene. At least one layer gives this mechanical strength and stability.

Shraddha Kakade Assistant Editor ETN

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COVER STORY

Electrolyte – Enabling ions transport within a Li-ion battery Electrolytes are vital components of an electrochemical energy storage device. They are usually composed of a solvent or mixture of solvents and a salt or a mixture of salts which provide the appropriate environment for ionic conduction.

Diagram showing movement of ions in electrolyte solution. Source: Shutterstock

s per reports, the global battery electrolyte market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of more than 7. 4 percent over the period of 2020-2025. Factors such as snowballing awareness level of cleaner transportation systems and the electric vehicle deployment is growing at a rapid pace globally, which in turn is estimated to create a huge demand for batteries, thereby providing a huge impetus to the battery electrolyte market.

Electrolyte material in Li-ion battery

Electrolyte plays a key role in transferring the positive lithium ions between the cathode and anode. The most commonly used electrolyte comprises lithium salt, such as LiPF6 in an organic solution.

The electrolyte is characteristically a mixture of organic carbonates such as ethylene carbonate or diethyl carbonate containing complexes of lithium ions. These non-aqueous electrolytes generally use noncoordinating anion salts such as lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6), lithium hexafluoroarsenate monohydrate (LiAsF6), lithium perchlorate (LiClO4), lithium tetrafluoroborate (LiBF4), and lithium triflate (LiCF3SO3). Electrolytes are vital components of an electrochemical energy storage device. They are usually composed of a solvent or mixture of solvents and a salt or a mixture of salts which provide the appropriate environment for ionic conduction. Battery electrolytes shuttle lithium ions between the positive and negative electrode during charging and discharging. Most lithium-ion

| May–June 2021

batteries use a liquid electrolyte that can combust if the battery is punctured or short-circuited. Solid electrolytes, on the other hand, rarely catch fire and are potentially more efficient. In Li-ion batteries and capacitors, the key requirements linked with the electrolyte comprise: • high ionic conductivity • inertness towards the various species that may be present at the stage of assembly and/or resultant from the electrochemical or side reactions, thus ensuring low or no emissions of pollutant species • reasonably low cost • being able to stand a relatively wide temperature range warranting safety • chemical and electrochemical stability

Solid and liquid electrolyte

In a Li-ion battery used in smartphones, power tools and EVs use a liquid electrolyte solution. On the other hand, a solid-state battery uses solid electrolyte, not liquid. At present, the commercially used Li-ion batteries have a separator that keeps cathode and anode apart, with liquid electrolyte solution. On the other hand, the solid-state battery uses solid electrolyte, not liquid electrolyte solution, and the solid electrolyte plays a role of a separator as well. Recent advanced in battery have resulted in rise of solid-state battery with solid electrolyte as it shows improved stability with a solid structure, and increased safety since it maintains the form even if the electrolyte is damaged – which sometimes happens in Li-ion batteries. The current Li-ion battery

53 Technology R&D for electrolyte materials Ampcera is focusing on solidstate electrolytes. The technology portfolio includes three areas: • Materials • Manufacturing technology, • App l ica ti on s in sol id -sta te batteries. Structure of Li-ion battery (L) and solid-state battery (R). Source: Samsung SDI.

run the risk of battery damage such as swelling due to change in temperature, or leakage caused by external force since it uses liquid electrolyte solution. Solid-state batteries also help to increase capacity of EV batteries. Since a solid-state battery has higher energy density than a Li-ion battery (which uses liquid electrolyte solution), it doesn’t have a risk of explosion or fire, so there is no need to have components for safety, thus saving more space. In that space, manufacturers can add more active materials thereby increasing battery capacity. A solid-state battery can increase energy density per unit area since only a small number of batteries are needed. For that reason, a solidstate battery is perfect to make an EV battery system of module and pack, which needs high capacity (Samsung SDI).

Leading global players

• Mitsubishi Chemical • UBE Industries • Panax-Etec • Soulbrain • BASF e-mobility • Mitsui Chemicals • Shenzhen Capchem • Guotai Huarong • Guangzhou Tinci Materials • Tianjin Jinniu • Dongguan Shanshan(DGSS) • Zhuhai Smoothway • Beijing Institute of Chemical Reagents • Shantou Jinguang High-Tech • Central Glass To learn more about the electrolyte market development, ETN spoke to few of the industry pioneers who are leading in the segment:

• Sumin Zhu, Ph.D., Co-Founder and CEO, Ampcera Inc • MU Ionic Solutions Corporation (MUIS)

R&D strategy for enhancing electrolyte materials Ampcera focuses its R&D work on optimizing the performance of its solid-state electrolyte materials as well as developing scalable and low-cost manufacturing technology for integration in batteries to achieve 450 Wh/kg energy density and $75/ kWh cost target. The company has a roadmap to scale up its solid-state electrolyte materials production using its revolutionary engineering solutions.

Sumin Zhu Ph.D., Co-Founder and CEO, Ampcera Inc.

Electrolyte offerings for the industry Ampcera offers the following commercialized solid-state electrolytes: • G a r n e t - b a s e d L L Z O o x i d e materials • Sulphide-based materials such as Argyrodite, LPS, LGPS, LSPS, etc., LAGP and LATP NASICONstructure materials. In addition, Ampcera also provide customized and proprietary solidstate electrolyte products to its customers and strategic partners.

Solid state battery Source: Ampcera Inc.

Market share in the industry Ampcera is at present the global market leader for solidstate electrolyte materials with the highest number of customers. The market share is estimated to be at least 60 percent if not higher.

Importance of high-performance electrolyte materials in solid-state batteries Solid-state battery is broadly considered as the next generation lithium battery technology to provide significantly higher energy density, better safety and lower cost than conventional lithium-ion batteries. The key component in a solid-state battery is the solid-state electrolyte, which replaces the liquid electrolyte used in conventional lithium-ion batteries. High-performance and low-cost solid-state electrolyte materials are critical to achieving the benefits of solid-state batteries. Development plans for the electrolyte market Ampcera will continue to collaborate with its customers and strategic partners to develop solid-state electrolyte materials and manufacturing technology for the accelerated development and commercialization of solid-state batteries.

May–June 2021 |

54 Market share in the industry MU Ionic Solutions Corporation has been one of the key player in the market and have a high market share particularly for batteries for xEV.

Electrolyte-Leading Companies Company Name

Country

GTHR

China

Shenzhen Capchem Technology Co Ltd"

China

"Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology Co"

China

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation

Japan

Dongguan Kaixin Battery Material Co Ltd"

China

Central Glass Co., Ltd"

Japan

BYD in-house

China

Shanshan Technology

China

ENCHEM

Korea

UBE Industries Ltd.

China

Source: SNE Research

Electric vehicles battery market is the main driver for the development of solid-state batteries and solidstate electrolyte. Ampcera is committed to the development and commercialization of our products and technology through both direct sales and licensing of our intellectual properties.

MU Ionic Solutions Corporation (MUIS) Electrolyte offerings for the industry MU Ionic Solutions Corporation

Sol-Rite / PURELYTE / POWERLYTE: an organic solvent-based electrolyte, mainly used for lithium-ion batteries, as well as lithium primary batteries, aluminium electrolytic capacitors, etc. Source: MU Ionic Solutions Corporation

(MUIS) was founded in October 2020, as a joint venture company between Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation and Ube Industries, Ltd., and engaged in business of electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries. The electrolyte offerings are predominantly used for lithium-ion batteries, as well as lithium primary batteries, aluminium electrolytic capacitors, etc. Technology R&D for electrolyte materials The electrolyte can greatly improve battery performance, including power output and lifetime, with functional additives tailored to the purpose, such as electrode interface control and prevention of overcharging (improving safety).

R&D strategy for enhancing electrolyte materials The company had been actively engaged in to determine differentiation of additives which has become a source of technological power because various functions can be added by the additives to be blended. Importance of high-performance electrolyte materials in Li-ion batteries Electrolytes are ionic conductive solutions that are important components for smoothly charging and discharging lithium-ion batteries and for suppressing battery degradation. Development plans for the electrolyte market The company aims to optimized solutions to meet customers’ requirements such as high power, high safety, high voltage, and high durability through developing functional materials like additives.

Moulin Oza Assistant Editor ETN

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PROCESS

Li-ion cell manufacturing A look at processes and equipment The production of the lithium-ion battery cell consists of three main stages: electrode manufacturing, cell assembly and cell finishing. Each of these stages have sub processes, that begin with coating the anode and cathode to assembling the different components and eventually packing and testing the battery cells.

he widely produced types of cells are Prismatic, cylindrical and pouch, and though the cell design differs the manufacturing processes are more or less similar. Manufacturing contributes about 25 percent of the cost of the Li-ion battery. China, Japan and South Korea are the major manufacturers and suppliers of equipment for Li-ion cell production.

Li-ion cells comprise four main components – two electrodes: one anode (holds the lithium ions when charged) and one cathode (holds the lithium ions when discharged), a separator that is placed between the electrodes to prevent contact and shorting, and an electrolyte medium that enables movement of lithium ions between the electrodes.

Factory layout for prismatic LIB production. Source: Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment | May–June 2021

Typically, the anode is made of graphite while the cathode can be an alloy of multiple metals (nickel, cobalt, lithium, others). All the components are packed in a casing and tabs are exposed for a positive and negative terminal. The cells are then arranged and connected to make a battery pack.

Schematic of LIB manufacturing processes Source: Sciencedirect

STAGE 1: ELECTRODE MANUFACTURING

Process The first stage is to mix the electrode materials with a conductive binder to form a uniform slurry with the solvent. (The anode material is a form of Carbon and the cathode is a Lithium metal oxide. To avoid

contamination between the two active materials, the anodes and cathodes are usually processed in different rooms.) The slurry is then coated either continuously or intermittently on both sides of the current collector (Al foil

for cathode and Cu foil for the anode) using an application tool (e.g. slot die, doctor blade, anilox roller). The thickness of the electrode coating can be controlled in the coating machine. The coated foil is fed directly into a long drying oven to evaporate the solvent. (The highly flammable solvent contained in the cathode coating is recovered or used for thermal recycling. From the waterbased anode coating, the harmless vapor is exhausted to the ambient environment directly.) This is followed by the calendaring process where the coated foils are compressed by a rotating pair of rollers. This process helps adjust the physical properties (bonding, conductivity, density, porosity, etc.) of the electrodes. After calendaring, the finished electrodes are cleaned and fed into slitting machines to be cut into narrow strips, and recoiled. The coils are then sent to a vacuum oven to remove the residual moisture and solvent. (Active materials, conductive additives, solvents and binders, as well as the aluminum foil and copper foil, are usually purchased components for the cell manufacturer.) Equipment used in the Process Machines used in the different processes in the first stage of cell manufacturing include: mixers for slurry making, coating and drying machines, calendaring or roll pressing machines, electrode cutting or slitting machine, and vacuum drying oven.

MACHINE

MANUFACTURER / SUPPLIER

Vacuum Mixers

Wuxi Lead, NAURA New Energy, Nagano Automation, Sevenstar Electronics, TSI

Coating Machine

Shenzhen Yinghe, Wuxi Lead, Katop Automation, NAURA New Energy, Toray, Hitachi, Nagano Automation, Areconn Precision, Sevenstar Electronics, SECI, Kanhoo, Putailai

Dryer

Ame Energy, TMAX, Leybold

Calendaring or Pressing Machine

Wuxi Lead, NAURA New Energy, Nagano Automation, Areconn Precision, Sevenstar Electronics, Zhiyun Automation

Slitting Machine

Shenzhen Yinghe, Wuxi Lead, NAURA New Energy, Toray, Nagano Automation, Areconn Precision

Vacuum Cabinet

Wuxi Lead, Shandong Gelon Lib Co.,

May–June 2021 |

Source: Tmax

STAGE 2: CELL ASSEMBLY

Process After the electrodes have been prepared, they are sent to the dry room for the sub-assembly process where the separator is layered between the anode and the cathode to form the internal structure of the cell. Two

basic electrode structures are used depending on the type of cell case: stacking is done for pouch cells, and winding is done for prismatic and cylindrical cells. Cell assembly is usually carried out on highly automated equipment.

In the next step, the assembled cell structure is connected to the terminals or cell tabs, together with any safety devices, using an ultrasonic or laser welding process. The subassembly is then inserted into the cell housing (pouch or metal case, depending on the cell design) which is then sealed in a laser welding or heating process leaving an opening for injecting the electrolyte. This is followed by filling the housed cell with the electrolyte and sealing it. This process is carried out in a dry room since moisture will cause the electrolyte to decompose with the emission of toxic gases. The electrolyte is filled with a high-precision dosing needle. By applying a pressure profile to the cell (supply of inert gas and/or generation of a vacuum in alternating operation), the capillary effect in the cell is activated (wetting the separator). The finished cell is labelled with a batch or serial number on the case. (The packaging materials, cell housing and the insulation materials, and electrolyte are usually purchased components for the cell manufacturer.) Equipment used in the Process Machines used in the second stage of cell manufacturing include, die cutting machine, stacking machine (pouch cells), winding machine (cylindrical & prismatic), sealing and tab welding machine, and electrolyte filling machine.

MACHINE

MANUFACTURER / SUPPLIER

Stacking Machine

Shenzhen Geesun, Wuxi Lead, Toray, Nagano Automation, Yinghe Technology, Zhiyun Automation

Winding Machine

Shenzhen Yinghe, Wuxi Lead, Kaido, CKD, Nagano Automation, Shenzhen Geesun, Koem, Areconn Precision, Zhiyun Automation

Vacuum Sealer

Sovema, Tmaxcn, Edwards

Cell Packaging

Toray, Manz, Yinghe Technology, Mplus

Tab Welding Machine

Mplus, Toptec, Wuxi Lead

Electrolyte Filling Machine

Shenzhen Geesun, Wuxi Lead, Nagano Automation, Sevenstar Electronics, Hibar Systems

Cell Assembly Line

Techland, Hitachi, Nagano Automation, Manz, Moritani GmbH, Yinghe Technology, Autowell, Koem | May–June 2021

Source: Sciencedirect

STAGE 3: CELL FINISHING

Process The formation process describes the first charging and discharging processes of the battery cell, after the electrolyte is injected into it. The cells are placed in formation racks and contacted by springloaded contact pins. The cells are then charged or discharged according to precisely defined current and voltage curves. During this process lithium ions are embedded in the crystal structure of the graphite on the anode side, forming a protective layer called the Solid Electrolyte

Interface (SEI) between the electrolyte and the electrode. This protective film results in the low self-discharge of Li-ion batteries and also affects the performance and life of the battery. (In larger pouch cells, first charging causes strong evolution of gas. This gas can be pressed out of the cell into a dead space called the gas bag. During degassing, the gas bag is pierced in a vacuum chamber and the escaping gases are sucked off. The cell is then finally sealed under vacuum, and the gas bag is

separated and disposed as hazardous waste.) The next step after formation is aging, and is undertaken for quality purposes. During aging, cell characteristics and cell performance are monitored by regularly measuring the open circuit voltage (OCV) of the cell over a period of up to three weeks. A distinction is made between high temperature (HT) and normal temperature (NT) aging. The cells usually first undergo HT aging and then NT aging. The cells are stored in aging shelves or cabinets. If no significant change is recorded in the cell properties over the entire aging period, it means the cell is fully functional. After the aging process, the cells are tested in an end-of-line (EOL) test rig. From the aging racks they are taken to the testing station where they are discharged to the shipping state of charge (capacity measurement). Further pulse tests, internal resistance measurements (DC), optical inspections, OCV tests and leakage tests can also be carried out. Once the tests have been completed successfully, the cells can then be assembled in battery packs as per requirement and end-use. The formation and aging process makes up 32 percent of the total manufacturing process. Equipment used in the Process Machines in the third and final stage of cell manufacturing include: battery formation testers/ equipment, aging cabinet, grading machines, and battery testing machine. Generally, coater, winder and grading & testing equipment accounts for 70 percent of total Cost of Li-ion cell production equipment, which may vary with degree of automation.

MACHINE

MANUFACTURER / SUPPLIER

Formation Equipment

Sovema Group, Shenzhen Geesun, Nagano Automation, Hanwha, HangKe Technologies, Shenzhen Yinghe

Aging Cabinet

Wuxi Lead

EOL Testing Machine

Sovema Group, HangKe Technologies May–June 2021 |

60 Innovation in Product and Processes Advancement in technology and materials that is taking place in the field of Li-ion cell manufacturing, will have a positive impact

on production costs, reducing the cost of not only raw material but also the final battery cell. Innovation has always led to better performance and quality of the end product.

EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER

COUNTRY

Formation Equipment Autowell Technology Beijng NAURA New Energy Technology CKD Fujifilm Geesun Intelligence Technology Hanwha Hibar Systems (Tesla) Hohsen Corp Jiangman Kanhoo Kaido Katop Automation Technology Koem

China China China Japan Japan China South Korea Canada Japan China Japan China South Korea Consortium partners based in Korea, provide turnkey LIB manufacturing equipment to North America countries Germany Germany South Korea Japan South Korea China China USA South Korea China Japan Japan South Korea China China China

Korea USA Battery Technology (KUBT) Manz Moritani GmbH mPLUS Nagano Automation PNE Solution Putailai Sevenstar Electronics Sovema Group Techland Toptec Battery TORAY TOSHIBA TSI Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment Yinghe Technology Zhiyun Automation

• Various mixing technologies and mixing tools are now available: intensive mixers, planetary mixers, dispersers, etc. • Simultaneous coating process that enables coating of the top and bottom sides of the foil at the same time using two opposite application tools. • Dry coating application of the active material on the carrier foil can be done in powder form without using a solvent, greatly reducing thermal activation time. Removing the solvent and drying process allows large-scale Li-ion battery production to be more economically viable. • The conventional dryers can be supported by infrared heating, making it more efficient • Lamination is a key technology for Lithium-ion battery production. The individual electrode and separator sheets are laminated onto each other in a continuous process and are then usually pressed together by a heat press, improving production line speed.

[Compiled by Nishtha Gupta-Vaghela, Consulting Editor – ETN]

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ETR has four series, it covers major topics covering overall major technologies energy storage and conversion which are commercially available or in their late development stages and will be commercially manufactured at scale in next 3-5 years. As these technologies are constantly evolving one needs to be updated. Here we present 4 reports covering.

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SAFETY

Manufacturing of high-quality Li-ion cells and batteries This article goes through the processes involved in lithium-ion cell and battery manufacturing and what needs to be controlled in order to manufacture high quality cells and batteries.

anufacturing of lithium-ion cells and batteries began in the 1990s with applications in portable electronic equipment from cameras to camcorders. This battery chemistry was then introduced into the laptop market and the applications using these grew significantly, increasing the demand. Today, batteries are used in a myriad of applications and range from low energy powering portable electronics with tens of watt-hours (Wh) to higher energy in kilowatthours (kWh) powering electric vehicles and further in megawatt-hours (MWh) and gigawatt-hours (GWh) sizes in grid energy storage applications. Due to the increased demand, the number of manufacturers in the area of lithium-ion cell and battery manufacturing has also increased significantly. Components that go into manufacturing a lithium-ion cell such as the cathode, anode, separator, electrolyte, to name a few, are constantly undergoing optimization with new discoveries that give rise to higher energy and power densities. Hence, the manufacturing process is not a straightforward mundane process. The nature of lithium-ion cell and battery manufacturing requires stringent process control since low quality, presence of defects, and the lack of relevant design controls can lead to catastrophic failures. With the mushrooming of cell and battery manufacturers in this industry, it has been noted that those manufactured with a lack of quality and configuration control are at a higher risk for catastrophic failures such as fire, smoke and thermal runaway in field use. Thermal runaway occurs when the heat produced in a cell or battery is higher than the heat dissipated from it resulting

in a rapid rise in temperature and typically accompanied by a fire and/ or smoke. To start with, let us look at the four main components that go into making a cell (Figure 1). These are the cathode (positive electrode), the anode (negative electrode), the separator (provides physical separation between the cathode and anode) and the electrolyte (provides a medium for the conduction and passage of ions). The example provided in Figure 1

is that of lithium-ion 18650 cell that also has other components that go into the cell. When designing cells and batteries, thermodynamic and kinetic processes internal to the cell and battery can affect the voltage, current and temperature of the cells. This is attributed to the three types of polarizations associated with any cell or battery (Figure 2). The three are, namely, ohmic polarization, concentration polarization and activation polarization. The ohmic

Figure 1: Components of a typical lithium-ion cell

| May–June 2021

63 should be such that they are compatible with the electrodes and the electrolyte, and have low contact resistance. • Ensure that the electronic conductivity of these is maximized. .

Figure 2: The polarizations encountered in a practical cell

polarization is the major contributor to the losses observed in voltage and is caused due to many factors such as contact resistance (welds, solders, adherence of active material to current collector), ionic resistance of the electrolyte (viscosity), interfacial resistance between electrode and electrolyte, nature of the electrodes (porosity and packing density), among others. The concentration polarization is dictated by the ability of the ions to move from one electrode to the other and the availability of active materials on the surface of the electrodes for the electrochemical process to occur. The activation polarization drives the electrochemical reaction and is determined by the overlap of the energy wells for the electrodes used. The activation polarization is determined by the choice of cathode and anode materials and is not influenced by the quality of the manufacturing process whereas

the other two polarizations play a major role in the performance, and to a certain extent, on the safety of the cell and eventually the battery. In order to reduce the adverse effect of these polarizations, one should, as a minimum, take into account the following: • The ionic conductivity of the electrolyte should be maximized to reduce the ohmic polarization and select electrolyte salts and solvents that are chemically and electrochemically stable with the electrodes. • The electrode reaction rates should be confirmed to be sufficiently high to minimize activation polarization. • Confirm that the ionic conductivity of the electrolyte is sufficiently high to reduce concentration polarization, and that the main reaction products remain at the electrode surface for rechargeable systems. • Choice of current collectors

These steps will lead to a minimization of losses due to the three different polarizations eventually reducing the losses in operating voltage and increasing the performance of the cells and batteries. Let us now focus on lithiumion cells and batteries and the importance of manufacturing in maximizing performance and safety. When lithium-ion cells became commercially available in the late 1990s, the first design that was available was the cylindrical metal can 18650 model (Figure 1) wherein the diameter of the cell was 18 mm and the length (height) of the cell was 65 mm. In the next decade, other cell sizes and formats became available. Two of the common formats were, the prismatic metal can (Figure 3a) and prismatic pouch (Figure 3b) types. Within the prismatic cell formats, different methods of electrode assembly have been used of which the elliptical wound (Figure 3c), stacked (Figure 3d) and Z- fold electrodes (Figure 3e) are the most common.: The following section of the article discusses the process of cell manufacturing and the need for cleanliness, dry rooms and quality control. Figure 4 describes the main steps involved in manufacturing the electrodes. The information under each box

Figure 3. Prismatic cell models: (a) prismatic metal can, (b) prismatic pouch format, (c-e) construction of electrode assembly for prismatic cell models (c) elliptical wound, (d) stacked, and (e) Z-folded. May–June 2021 |

Figure 4: Electrode manufacturing process with details on processes for quality management

that carries the various stages of the manufacturing process, provides guidance on what needs to be taken care of in order to have a stringent and quality-controlled process for the manufacturing of the electrodes. Some factors that require reiteration are the confirmation that cross contamination of cathode and anode active materials should be avoided, and that during the processes where metal particles could be incorporated as with the mixing and slitting processes. The use of magnets in appropriate locations prevent the introduction of undesired metal particles or filings into the cell components that can later result in a catastrophic failure. It is also imperative to check the uniformity of the electrode thickness and an inspection of the electrodes, using random samples from the electrode roll, to confirm the uniformity of the electrodes, the lack of pin holes, the lack of lumps and other impurities and their adherence to the current collector. The requirements for clean room should also be followed as required for the various steps. Utmost care must be taken to maintain clean working environment and maintain strict quality control. Figures 5 and 6 provide a

detailed account of the steps involved in manufacturing the cells. The factors that need to be given attention during the manufacturing of each of the electrodes as well as the incorporation of the electrodes with the separator into the cell

Figure 5: Steps involved in cell assembly

| May–June 2021

container, are detailed in Figure 5. The noteworthy ones are to confirm that: • there is no introduction of metal or foreign particles, • that there are no defects or deformations introduced due to

Figure 6: Steps involved in final stages of cell assembly and testing after cell manufacturing

lack of care exercised during the electrode roll insertion process, • the lack of faulty or improper welds, prevention of weld splatters, • the use of proper heat-sealing techniques for pouch format cell sealing, and • the addition of accurate volume and high purity electrolyte in the cells. Once the electrode roll or stack is placed inside the cell container and the electrolyte has been added, it is necessary to complete the formation cycle wherein the charging of the cell takes place in addition to the removal of bubbles and air gaps within the cell. Once this is completed, the cell is sealed

in the relevant manner for the metal can and the pouch format cells. After the cell is sealed, there are several steps that are performed as described in Figure 6 where the cells are X-rayed to confirm that the electrode roll/stack is uniformly aligned, and that there is no impingement of current collector tabs on the separator or electrode causing compression or the path to create a short circuit between the cathode and anode. Cell resizing or height adjustment performed as the last step during cell manufacturing can cause issues (Figure 7) and it should be performed before X-rays and washing of the cell. Washing the cell before height adjustment pushes electrolyte that is squeezed out at the crimp seal.

Figure 7: Cell header in an 18650 Li-ion cell showing (left) a high-quality header assembly with gap between the metal part of the header and electrode assembly and (right) a badly compressed / resized cell showing impingement of metal can on electrode assembly (Source: Dr. Esfahani, MIT/ George Mason University)

The electrolyte along with moisture in the atmosphere causes corrosion of the cell can (steel) in the crimp area. Storage ageing is a very significant step in the cell manufacturing process, since the period of rest provides significant data on early cell failures due to inadvertent defect introduction or poor cell build. The production quality of cells can be determined in the following manner. The data from the entire cell lot should be reviewed for dimensions, mass, open circuit voltage (OCV), capacity and internal resistance / ac impedance. A statistical analysis of the data from the measurements mentioned from each lot should be performed and if there is more than 3 percent of the cells that lie outside the 6-sigma range, the lot should not be delivered for use in the build of batteries. In addition to this, if there is more than 10 percent failure rate after the cell formation cycle for each lot, then the lot shall not be used or delivered for the manufacturing of batteries. So, why is having a high-quality cell and battery manufacturing process critical to safety? Internal short circuit is a credible hazard associated with lithium-ion cells that can result in a catastrophic failure of cells and batteries in the field. Internal short circuits are caused by two means: (i) Due to defects created during the manufacturing process that were not detected or screened out and that manifests itself in the field while in use or in storage; and (ii) Due to bad design or misuse where overcharge (overvoltage), over discharge, extreme high and low temperatures and external short circuits can induce internal shorts to be developed in the field. High quality cell and battery manufacturing processes reduce the risk of an internal short manifesting itself during the manufacturing process as well as in the field. When one does not have the ability to audit the cell manufacturing facility, certain steps can be taken to confirm the quality of the cells received. The analysis and criteria

66 suggested above to determine the production quality of cells is an important step. Apart from that, destructive physical analysis (DPA) of a random set of cell samples from the lot can help determine the quality of the lot received. Factors that need attention are the following: • Length of the anode electrode should be more than the cathode electrode and the separator should be longer than both electrodes; electrodes and separator should be aligned with no tunneling. • All current collectors that lead from the electrode stack to the terminals should be directed in a way to avoid contact with the electrodes and have strain relief to prevent breakage; • Separator and electrodes should not have any creases, folds, etc., that can become nucleation areas for lithium dendrite formation or salt deposits during the field use (charge and discharge). • Physical abnormalities, such as bumps, tears, pin holes, foreign object debris, native object debris, non-uniform electrode thickness, changes in appearance, delamination, and electrode dry out areas should not be present; welds should be uniform with no protrusions, or weld splatters. • All metal surfaces that include current collector tabs, exposed metal current collector at the end or beginning of the wind, etc., should be covered with insulating material like Kapton tape or equivalent. • Plastic or other non-conductive washer type insulators should be

used wherever isolation between active materials is required; for instance, between the electrode roll and the bottom of an 18650 cell can; between the top of the electrode roll and the header of the cell and between the top of the electrode and the terminal leading to the header, etc. • An extra layer of separator that isolates the electrode roll from the cell can, even those with positive or negative potential. • Insulation of cell cans that are deemed neutral (floating potential) should have isolation checks performed. A brief description of best practices for high quality battery build includes the following: • All lithium-ion batteries should have a battery management system (BMS) that provides monitoring of cell (cell bank) voltages, series string current and temperature with controls for overvoltage, undervoltage, short circuit currents and unsafe temperatures. • Cell balancing is imperative and the presence of state of health monitoring should be provided for relevant applications that require long term performance. • The components that are used in the batteries such as wire gauge, MOSFET (metal-oxide s e m i c o n d u c t o r f i e l d - e ff e c t transistor) switches, fuses, diodes and other electronic components should be rated for the application. • T h e s o f t w a r e u s e d f o r performance and safety should be verified to work appropriately. • All cells that go into a battery

should be from the same lot that have the same manufacturing date code. • In the case of high energy batteries such as those used in electric vehicles and stationary grid storage applications, the heat dissipation paths and thermal gradient within the battery should be well understood in order to obtain a design with the least thermal gradient possible (preferably within 3 °C). • Finally, the battery should be verified by test to provide the relevant performance as well as a confirmation that the safety controls work at the various levels as required. Cells and batteries should be certified using the relevant performance and safety standards available. Some of the standards that can be used to certify cells are UL 1642, UL 62133-2 / IEC 621332. Some of the standards that are relevant for consumer battery certifications are UL 2054, UL 2056, UL 8139, UL 2272, UL 2849 and UL 3030. Stringent quality manufacturing processes for cells and batteries can reduce field failures due to latent defects and improve their safety. The use of high-quality cells and batteries provides a safer transportation and usage environment.

Judith Jeevarajan, Ph. D., Research Director, Underwriters Laboratories

(The author would like to thank her team members for their valuable comments. More information regarding lithium-ion battery safety studies can be obtained by contacting NFP.BatterySafety@ul.org.)

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ENERGY STORAGE

Establishing India’s battery manufacturing capabilities A successful implementation of Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage Programme will not only enhance the battery manufacturing sector but also help attract investments in various upstream sectors like mining, processing, etc., and down-stream sectors such as battery packaging, electric mobility, energy storage, computers, and electronics.

ith the Union Cabinet of India finally giving its formal approval to the National Programme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage on May 12, 2021, India has showcased to the world its clear resolute intent to take upon a leadership role in the global clean energy transition, to safe-guard its energy security, and to ensure ‘aatma-nirbharta’ (self-reliance). This is the key initiative of the government to attract global investments into manufacturing of ACCs and setting up India’s first few giga factories. ACCs are the new generation advance storage technologies that can store electric energy either as electrochemical or as chemical energy and convert it back to electric energy as and when required. Globally, manufacturers are investing in these new generation technologies at commercial scale to fill the expected boom in battery demand through 2030. In alignment with its vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, or ‘Selfreliant India’, the government had set-up the National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage in early 2019, under the Chairmanship of the Amitabh Kant, CEO of Niti Aayog. The mission decided to put in place a robust framework to attract global investment into setting up of India’s maiden giga factory. NITI Aayog, which is the nodal steering body for the mission, subsequently drafted the program framework and the model bid documents following intensive consultation with various key stakeholders and potential investors. Department of Heavy Industry (DHI) was

made the nodal ministry responsible for implementation of the ACC Programme.

ACC Programme framework

The adopted framework for the program is an umbrella initiative aimed at fostering an overall ecosystem to promote investments in ACC manufacturing in India. The three key pillars of the Programme are: a) Performance linked incentive (PLI), b) Composite custom duty matrix (CDM) c) Robust action framework to spur ACC demand in India Though, the Union Cabinet has now accorded its formal approval towards the PLI component with an overall subsidy outlay of `18,100 crore, going forward, the government of India should also ensure timely implementation of the other two pillars Image for representation only

| May–June 2021

of the program to enable the nation to achieve the maximum efficacy of the said policy initiative. PLI is a robust ‘carrot-&-stick’ policy tool, which not just ensures that the beneficiary firms receive optimal financial incentive to mitigate various infrastructural and capacity constraints in the Indian economy, but also that the beneficiary firm meets its key performance indicators (KPIs) and output commitments. For disbursement of PLI under the program, a sovereign agreement mechanism - a Concession Agreement (to be executed with DHI) and a Tripartite Agreement (to be executed both with the State and with the DHI) - has been adopted. The framework has been prepared with due consideration to three critical aspects: first, ensuring bankability of individual projects. Second, robust monitoring mechanism for achieving the KPIs and thus the desired socio-economic impact,

69 and third, facilitating ease of doing business for potential investors. The Concession Agreement lays down clear responsibilities of the concerned parties and includes necessary provisions to mitigate the project specific risks on account of change of law, force majeure and authority default. It incorporates a robust penal mechanism to ensure the achievement of the committed a) domestic value capture, b) installed production capacity of the plant; and specified c) performance criteria. Apart from the Concession Agreement, the beneficiary is expected to enter into a Tripartite Agreement (TA) also. The TA, which has been explicitly cross-referred in the Concession Agreement, ensures the alignment of the PLI scheme with the State-level policies and the preparedness of the project prior to the start of the financial incentive window that it in-turn minimizes the chances of delays in the commissioning of the project. Under the Concession Agreement to ensure transparency and to curtail the chances of aggressive financial bidding -- a key cause of various project failures in India -and given the disruptive technology nature of the projects, following key framework has been adopted: first, it encompasses a value weighted process with three key variables: cash subsidy, installed ACC manufacturing capacity, and value capture. The cash subsidy has a pre-specified threshold rate, and shall be offered on output, i.e., the volume of cells manufactured and thereafter sold by the beneficiaries. Second, it is a technology agnostic initiative, whereby only cells with higher performance specifications (i.e., energy density &/or cycle life) shall be eligible to avail the incentives. While the subsidy benchmarks shall be determined in a manner that cells with higher performance characteristics attract higher subsidy, thereby encouraging manufacturers to invest into R&D in India. Under the bid methodology adopted, the participants shall be ranked in order of their respective bid scores, and the ACC capacities shall be

allocated in the order of their ranking, with the entity ranked 1 allocated the capacity first, followed by entity ranked 2, and so on, till a cumulative capacity of 50 GWh per year has been allocated. The subsidy support will be limited to a cumulative 50 GWh of ACC manufacturing capacity in India, with a single beneficiary not allowed more than 20 GWh cell manufacturing facility. Furthermore, to encourage economies of scale, minimum bid may be restricted to 5 GWh capacity, which may be developed in phases over a prespecified window.

Impact of the ACC Programme

India’s expected demand for advance batteries till 2030 is about 1100 GWh across different use cases. This would be ample to support the economies of scale and the target of 50 GWh capacity of advanced battery storage manufacturing in India, as proposed under the program through commissioning of 4-5 gigascale factories by 2025-27. With the successful implementation of the program, Indian economy is expected to reap enormous benefits on account of the multiplier effect of the noted policy on the other sectors. ACCs directly and indirectly impact several critical sectors both downstream and up-stream. Also, it is extremely imperative to understand the opportunity cost incidental on our nation on account of foregoing robust domestic supply chain of advance cells and battery storage. Hence, taking these factors into consideration, the program has laid emphasis on domestic value addition and economies of scale. This shall enable India to attract investments in various upstream sectors like mining, processing, etc., and in various down-stream sectors such as battery packaging, electric mobility, energy storage, computers, and electronics.

domestic ACC industry and need timely addressal. These include: a) critical need for India to secure the material supply chain of key minerals and metals such as graphite, lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, etc. (for the current set of battery technologies). India lacks many of these critical metals, most importantly nickel, cobalt, and lithium; b) in absence of an assured offtake, need for a clear demand pipeline for ACCs. For this the program lays down a list of initiatives, along with clear action points for the concerned line ministries and the other key statutory bodies; c) regulatory framework for recycling, this not only forms a big part of metal recovery, especially for countries such as India, but also limits the negative impact of battery disposal on the environment; and lastly, d) setting-up of ACC performance testing laboratories. While the Concession Agreement lays down a detailed mechanism and specifications for testing of the performance specifications of the ACCs produced, currently there is no such laboratory in the country. Finally, through a collaborative approach, along with support and participation of various State governments, the program on advance battery storage will ensure that India captures the economic opportunities at hand, while delivering societal and environmental benefits that will improve quality of life for Indian citizens. These benefits shall outweigh any short-term disruptions. A transition of this nature will enable the nation to save ~`2-3 lakh crore by avoiding oil imports and almost `3.5 lakh crore of advance battery imports by 2030.

Challenges to be addressed

Going forward, there still exist few critical challenges that confront the May–June 2021 |

Aman Hans Ex-Niti Aayog (Program Lead ACC Battery Storage)

LEADERSHIP SPEAK

India finally enters global race for giga factories On May 12, the Union Cabinet gave a final nod to the much-awaited PLI scheme for ACC battery storage. ETN interviewed Dr. Rahul Walawalkar, President, India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) to understand the journey that led to this milestone, India’s battery storage market, and the next steps Indian companies should look out for. Congratulations on the approval of the PLI scheme for ACC battery storage manufacturing; you have been at the forefront of accelerating adoption of energy storage and e-mobility in India, please share your journey so far. The journey started back in 2010, when we started the India operations for Customized Energy Solutions (CES). CES has been involved in shaping the US energy storage market through its own work, as well as with the Energy Storage Association (ESA) since 2004. When we started the India operations, we realized that India presents possibly a bigger opportunity for advanced energy storage technologies, but there was a complete lack of awareness about technology and all kinds of policy changes were required to open up the market. So, in 2012 CES started India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) with the vision of creating awareness about advanced energy storage technologies and creating a vibrant market for these technologies in

India. Later in 2016, IESA leadership circle community suggested that based on the learnings from the solar industry, where between 2012 to 2016 it had started to take off in a big way but there was hardly any manufacturing happening and government was starting to think about putting some domestic manufacturing under ‘Make in India’. Then some of the early giga factories were starting up in China and Tesla had just announced their Gigafactory plan for the US so we started exploring if we can have a similar giga factory plan for India and we started with a modest target of setting the 10GWh power by 2020 as an initial target and submitted a proposal to NITI Aayog in March 2016. So, it has been a five-year journey since, and now the PLI has been approved but the vision is much bigger under Amitabh Kant’s leadership, and the government is now promoting manufacturing of 50GWh within 5-7 years. Though this has taken slightly longer than expected, it is a great start and we are not too

Dr. Rahul Walawalkar

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far behind Europe in terms of starting this journey. The government has allocated `18,100 crore for ACC Battery Storage manufacturing program, can you elaborate on how these funds will be allocated? The ACC program has evolved over the last two years. This is perhaps the most studied and discussed program with all the stakeholders since it is the first-ever scheme to be brought out by the Niti Aayog. The program is designed such that it is meant for advanced chemistry cell battery manufacturing, therefore it is limited to electrochemical storage technologies, but within that the program allows all forms of electrochemical technologies that meet the criteria to be eligible for the manufacturing incentive. The program starts with technologies that have at least 50 watt-hour per kg as energy density and goes up to technologies that have 350 watt-hour per kg or more — which are the latest generation technologies. The second parameter considered is cycle life. It is also a very important parameter because different applications require different cycles and it allows for technologies which have 1000 cycles and it goes up to those having 10,000 cycles or greater. So, if you are lower on the energy density then it is expected that to be eligible for the incentive program you need to at least have superior cycle life or if you have the highest energy density then you can be eligible for the incentive given with lower cycle life which is consistent with applications such as consumer electronics or automotive where 1000 or maybe 1500 cycles are more than sufficient, but energy

71 density is very important. Whereas for some of the stationary applications the energy density is not as important, but cycle life is, as most of the utilities are looking for a 20 years duration for financing these projects. Therefore, this is a perfect balance where the government is not determining which technologies will get money as long as the technology being manufactured can be set up at 5GW or higher scale and meets the criteria. This program is also linked to production, and unlike some of the earlier programs, the government wants companies to take the technology risk and make sure that they invest into technologies that are actually manufactured. The companies will have to undergo testing for the products manufactured to validate that they are meeting the criteria and depending on that they can get anywhere from base amount to almost two or two-and-a-half of base incentive amount if they are able to produce batteries superior in performance. There is complete flexibility provided for testing and products manufacturing in this program. We are also happy that IESA was one of the key stakeholders who enabled the program to be opened for 16 more battery chemistries. The original program was for EV applications and that would have limited the incentive to 3-4 electrochemical batteries but based on IESA intervention, Niti Aayog expanded the scope, and today 16+ battery chemistries are eligible to avail the incentives in this program. Another important development is that there is also a niche ACC program where additional 5GWh capacity is being allocated where individual manufacturing could be 500MWh or possibly smaller, this could be very good for attracting investment from some of the cuttingedge technology. These were some of the recommendations put forth by IESA and we thank Niti Aayog’s Amitabh Kant and R B Gupta for taking them into consideration. This will now enable to attract both, investment in commercial-grade technology that can compete with technology being manufactured in China, Korea, US, and the EU,

and also to promote domestic R&D and attract international early-stage companies to come in and setup plants in India that could lay the foundation for next-generation giga factories in India. How many years this program is planned for and how will the funds be allocated? The government has allocated is more than `18,100 crore for the program, there will be money allocated to related programs to support ACC battery manufacturing including some funding to the Department of Science and Technology (DST) for supporting R&D. But this money will be available for the period of five years and that window starts in another couple of years. So, it is expected that by the end of this month or early next month RFP will be out for all the key stakeholders to review, then the company will have to 2-4 months to submit detailed application. Once the application is submitted there are two primary criteria on which the winners will be selected, this includes the scale of manufacturing, domestic value addition, and how fast the domestic value addition will happen within the first five years of operation of the facility. If there are two companies setting up same size manufacturing plant, then the company which can localize more value in India will get higher weightage, and there is a 20 percent weightage for financial parameter, i.e. how much less subsidy you are asking from the government. So, the base amount of incentive money is fixed at `2000 per kWh (roughly $25 per kWh) but it is also capped at 20 percent of the cell price. Since it is expected that by the time this manufacturing facility has come online the cell prices will be below $100, so in such cases the maximum amount of incentive which most of the companies can get will be around $15; but that is still a big amount when you are considering sub $100 cell price. That's one of the parameters based on which the winners will be selected. We are expecting more than 80GWh of bids to be submitted for the program. In fact, if some of the

international players also start participating then the bids could go higher than 100GWh but based on the interaction of IESA team with the existing players in the market we are confident we will get 70-80GWh of bids. Out of which, only 50GWh will be eligible for the incentive so there is going to be an exciting competition during this phase. After this, the winners have to submit on a quarterly basis the test results of the cells which are produced to make sure which incentive bracket they fit in. They need to submit GST invoices or some other proof that would show they were able to sell those batteries in the market. They could even export it; those successful in selling it internationally will also be eligible for the incentives. Niti Aayog designed this program after consultation with several ministries including the Department of Heavy Industries (DHI), Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Ministry of Power (MoP) and many other agencies including DST. DHI will serve as the implementing agency, and it will be responsible for distribution of the money. The entire process is defined, including the testing criteria and all the other parameters. Most of the players have this information, if not, they can reach out to IESA and we will be happy to help them understand the program. You mentioned that more than 80GWh of bids could be submitted for the program, and if international players participate then the bids could be above 100GWh. So, would Indian companies be able to license technology from foreign partners? This is an area where there is a lot of innovation taking place around the globe. There are Indian companies who have now, for more than a year, been in touch with technology partners and some of these companies have already formed joint ventures or are finalizing license agreements for some of these technologies. So, technologies are available, and in fact, every major technology company is interested in India as a market-- which is among the top 3 markets. If we consider countries,

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72 after China and the US, India will be the third largest market before 2030. Therefore, no technology company can ignore India as a market. IESA annual market assessment suggests that between now and 2027, the cumulative market potential in base-case is 400GWh, and in terms of upper-case, this potential could be more than 600GWh. This program is quite an optimum size for meeting India’s requirement. With this incentive, and some of the duties getting constituted under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) initiative, it is almost a nobrainer that any tech company that wants to get access to the Indian market will need to participate in the ACC PLI Programme. As we are aware, ACC battery manufacturing requires heavy investments, how will Indian companies get the necessary finance for this? This is an important question. Traditionally, Indian industries have been comfortable with the assembling-kind of opportunity where you are not investing in the core technology manufacturing but importing core components and assembling those together. That is how the auto industry, telecom, cell phone manufacturing is working. But IESA strongly recommended working on building core technology in India and thanks to the visionary leadership of PM Modi and CEO of NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant, we have realized we cannot keep making the same mistakes. So, the government has taken this into consideration in the PLI scheme. If we see the way the PLI program is designed, we need to have at least 60 percent domestic value addition; the complete supply chain is looked after in this program which is why the investment amount will be huge, but ultimately ACC battery cells are going to be the engine for industries for the next 15 years. These technologies are useful for renewable integration, power backup, diesel minimization, electric vehicles -- not just on roads, but drones, electric planes, marine applications -- and consumer electronics devices such as cell phones, etc. So, there are numerous applications, and we are

at the cusp of a technology transition that will dominate the industry for the next 20-30 years, possibly even longer. The last battery technology to reach this scale was lead-acid batteries and they dominated the world for more than 100 years. Although many new technologies will come, but companies that will set up facility under this will have a long commercial opportunity, and companies who invest in this can consider 20 percent EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization). If you consider the investment money they are getting, then this can be greater than 25 percent. So, there is no better opportunity than this for companies considering investing in ACC battery manufacturing. Advance chemistry cell requires critical raw materials like lithium for manufacturing Li-ion batteries; reports suggest India has limited reserves of lithium, so how will critical raw materials be secured for indigenous facilities? This again is a very important question, and this was in fact one of the concerns due to which the ACC program got derailed by almost a year as people started to think that India does not have enough lithium reserves so we should go for sodium or some other next-generation batteries. However, people knowledgeable in this sector already know that in Li-ion battery, the energy exchange or ions that are getting exchanged are Lithium, but in terms of the materials – Lithium amounts for less than 5 percent of the cost of the material going into the Li-ion battery. Depending on the battery chemistry, it could even be as low as 2-3 percent. Therefore, depending on the battery chemistries, there are several minerals required such as iron, copper, aluminum, phosphorous, nickel, manganese, cobalt. India already has reserves for many of these materials, and the global supply chain has also developed. For example, every country that is manufacturing or setting up a giga factory does not have domestic supply for Li-ion battery manufacturing, they rely on other countries which have reserves. Ultimately,

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this is a business decision whether the supply chain needs to be developed locally, or whether they can take benefit of abundant reserves available in Australia, or countries in Latin America. These countries have a very well-developed mining sector and they are currently looking to partner with Indian companies. The Indian government has already set up a separate PSU, Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. (KABIL) specifically for the purpose of securing critical raw materials needed for Indian industries. KABIL has already signed MoUs and partnership agreements with some of the international mining companies. Lithium exploration in India was stopped until 2017. IESA and some of the other stakeholders initiated the dialogue to allow lithium exploration, which was granted in 2018. In the last two years, initial deposits of lithium have been found -- one in Karnataka and another in Eastern part of India – whether they are economical to be mined is something that has to be decided, but these things will develop. With ACC program mandating 60 percent domestic value addition there is a big opportunity to get raw materials from outside, but if you can process them to the purity and quality required for battery-grade then there is tremendous value addition available there. These are the kind of opportunities the Indian companies need to focus on right now. Another important aspect is, in Li-ion battery the materials do not get destroyed during the use of it unlike fossil fuels. In case of Li-ion battery, all the mined and processed materials can be almost 100 percent recycled and reused within battery manufacturing as well as many other applications such as medical-grade pharmaceuticals or lubricants. Around the world, billions of dollars are being invested in recycling of advanced chemistry cell and this problem will be solved. So, for the next 5-6 years we will be counting on freshly mined material but later the share of recycled material as a part of new battery manufacturing supply chain will start going up. IESA has launched IRRI (IESA Re-use and Recycling Initiative) program, and we are working with

73 key stakeholders and government agencies to enable this. What are some of the learnings India can take from other countries that have set up giga factories already? This is an area where technological changes happen very rapidly so companies entering this area have to invest heavily into R&D and be on top of technological changes. We are of the view that there is not one single silver bullet, there are multiple technologies used in various applications. We think there is great opportunity for multiple technologies to coexist but the foundation of this is R&D. Apart from R&D we need to invest heavily on skill development. This being a new field, India does not have skilled manpower to address this, IESA, under IESA Academy, has already started conducting hands-on training for cell manufacturing and have partnered with SECRI, CMET and other National Labs for training people, and we will be scaling it. Apart from this, we need to have a program where we can tap into number of Indian students or researchers currently working in this area. We need a government or private program that will focus on bringing back all these scientists and researchers working with international companies that are open to returning to India and contributing to the development of this sector in the country. Also, there could be many foreigners interested in coming and tapping into this opportunity.

So, we first need to focus on manpower and skilled resources and then we need to make start utilizing industry-academic collaboration to stay on top of R&D requirement. Talking about the other side of the equation in battery manufacturing, how do you think the demand is shaping up in India for battery storage? We are very confident that the demand in India is huge. Although right now, the demand for Li-ion battery is perhaps little under 5GWh, so 50GWh seems like a overkill in terms of manufacturing. But, as we are seeing different price points being matched for applications, the market is expected to grow very fast. We anticipate that by the time this 50 comes online by 2027, the market demand at the minimum will be 80GWh, or possibly even more than 100GWh. We expect this manufacturing will serve only around 50 percent of the domestic demand. The key part required right now is: confidence building measures. Business leaders are currently little skeptical about this proposition, as they have seen in other areas like coal, where they made big plans, investments, but the actual demand did not follow. So, they are probably thinking whether that scenario might get repeated. This is where people need to be smarter and realize that previously they invested into technologies towards the end-of-its-life internationally, whereas this is the sunrise sector and these technologies which

will dominate the world at least for the next 20-30 years, if not more. In terms of demand-generation activities there is already FAME-II policy by DHI wherein many State Transportation Enterprises are buying electric buses. EESL is looking at investing into setting up EV charging infrastructure. IESA is working with EESL to find the right charging location. Another important aspect is that we need to educate the endusers so they do not keep waiting for cheaper batteries and cheaper EVs and impress on them that there are several applications where they can switch to electric today and start saving money. We need to work on consumer education in helping them take the right decision, with these factors demand should pick up. IESA is working on the stationary side agencies like Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), which had a huge role to play in the success story of the solar sector. They are also playing a key role in identifying hybrid projects with solar, wind, and storage, and those will drive applications on the stationary storage side. India is already a vibrant market for UPS, inverter backup power applications, I don’t think any government intervention is required here. Only thing necessary is enabling financing, as the advanced technologies are far more energy dense so they offer five to six times longer life, but they also have a higher capital cost for at least the next 3-4 years. If the financing is available, then they can hit the ground running.

[Interviewed by ETR host, Netra Walawalkar. Transcribed and edited by Shraddha Kakade, Asst. Editor, ETN Magazine.]

Presents

Ava i l a b l e Pod c a s t i ng

May–June 2021 |

E-MOBILITY

What to expect from the EV market post pandemic? As the world shut down to combat the coronavirus so did the EV market, with sales dropping drastically, first in China, and then in the rest of the world. Adam Panayi, Managing Director of Rho Motion, takes us through the EV sales recovery that followed, and what to expect in the post-pandemic era.

ollowing the drastic dip in EV sales in the first and second quarters of 2020, there was a very strong recovery in EV sales, as governments in many major markets introduced huge stimulus packages to protect economies from the worst of the downturn. A key component of this for many countries was an emphasis on funding environmental technologies, and the EV market, particularly in Europe, benefitted. In Germany, for example, the EV subsidy was increased to a maximum of €9,000 under its COVID-19 relief package, while in France the maximum subsidy was increased to €7,000 under its relief fund. What is significant is that both countries have large automotive sectors, which are transitioning to non-ICE technologies over this decade, and in our view, governments acted to support these industries through this process. As a result, sales started to increase sharply in the second half of

the year, with the European market growing very strongly. Through the first quarter of 2021, year-on-year growth has been exponential as a result of the relative weakness of the Q1 2020. While we do not expect that the levels of growth over 100 percent are sustainable throughout the year, we do now expect growth of over 50 percent year-onyear for the EV market across all vehicle classes. Resulting in sales of roughly 4.9 million units. The stimulus packages that were drawn up in 2020 are now being wound down and phased out, but we now point to several factors to support our assumptions on growth. In EU, EFTA, and UK, there have been several announcements from OEMs targeting high levels of penetration rates in Europe, notably from Ford and Stellantis. Major European markets, Spain and Italy, have also increased consumer incentives for EVs.

| May–June 2021

A reduction in super credits, and the fact that 100 percent of all newly registered vehicles will be counted towards CO2 emission targets, will continue to drive a strong push in EV sales throughout 2021. Further, as we expect a recovery in ICE sales in 2021, this will add upward pressure on fleet average CO2 emissions. It is noteworthy, therefore, that Q1 2021 penetration rates for multiple major OEMs, such as Daimler and BMW, have increased in the European market. In China, there have been strong sales in China in the opening four months of the year, despite a 20 percent decline in the maximum EV subsidy in 2021 compared with 2020. It is likely there will be an increase in EV sales towards the end of the year, before the subsidy is reduced by a further 30 percent. Consumer choice remains a key demand driver, with around 200 separate models sold in 2021 YTD alone.

75 The small, low price, SAIC-GMWuling EV continues to lead sales with over 100,000 sold in the opening four months. Second is the MIC Tesla Model 3, followed by BYD’s Han BEV. On the battery chemistry side, BYD is expected to use its LFP ‘Blade Battery’ in all its models going forward, its NCM capacity will serve third party OEMs. There have been several commitments from major OEMs in China in Q1 2021. Dongfeng announced all of

its new models will be electric by 2024, GAC announced full electrification of its models by 2025, and Chery set a target of 40 percent EV sales by 2030. In the US, the timing of new incentives is expected to be the key demand driver. A timeline has not been set for the proposed $174 billion investment into the EV market proposed by Biden, but we do not expect an introduction of new policies until Q4 2021 at the earliest.

Once introduced, new National and State announcements will likely facilitate faster EV adoption. President Biden committed the US to halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, while the States of California and New York have committed to all zeroemission passenger cars sales by 2035, and all heavy-duty vehicles zero-emission by 2045. The State of Washington has committed to BEV only for all cars and LDV by 2030.

May–June 2021 |

HYDROGEN

Green hydrogen: Charging zero-carbon transition globally

There is a need for a bouquet of policies aimed at driving hydrogen, along with a specific target for CO2 emissions to boost investments and advanced manufacturing levels, globally.

Image for representation only

he time is right to tap into hydrogen’s potential to secure a clean and affordable energy future. For decades, governments and industries have invested in hydrogen R&D as a future fuel. Globally, governments are developing hydrogen strategies. A global race to develop regional and national hydrogen economies is in progress, with the number of projects and regional policies globally expanding swiftly. The number of countries with policies that directly support investment in hydrogen technologies is growing, along with the number of sectors they target. Several pilot projects scrutinizing various applications for hydrogen use and viability studies for its transportation are underway.

India rallies for green hydrogen

Like other countries, India too aims to make the most out of this abundantly available element.

In November 2020, at the 3rd Global RE-INVEST Renewable Energy Investors Meet & Expo, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Central government plans to put in place a Comprehensive National Hydrogen Energy Mission. On the same lines, on February 1, 2021, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget 2021-22 announced a proposal to launch a Hydrogen Energy Mission in 2021-22 for generating hydrogen from green power sources. Niti Aayog, the policy think tank of the government of India has been at the forefront with its efforts to develop green hydrogen as the sustainable future fuel and being integral in establishing the National Hydrogen Energy Mission in the country. It is also in discussions with the relevant stakeholders to chart out India’s approach to green hydrogen.

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Amitabh Kant

Speaking at a forum, Amitabh Kant, CEO - NITI Aayog, underlined that “India has formally launched the National Hydrogen Energy Mission (NHEM). Bearing in mind India’s 175 GW target of renewable energy capacity by 2022 and 450 GW by 2030, it is important that our energy grid encompasses other green technologies on a medium-tolong term basis.”

77 The NHEM will advantage India lower its emission intensity by 33-35 percent from the 2005 levels by 2030, another NationallyDetermined Contribution (NDC) target under the Paris Agreement, Kant highlighted.

plans to develop this capacity. Half of the electricity capacity will be renewables in the upcoming decade. One of the major hydrogen usages is in clean and green mobility. We expect a rise in the use of EVs and this will necessitate more green fuels. We are all focused on sustainable ways to produce hydrogen, but the waste needs to be addressed as well.”

European steel industry moves to H2

Sturle Herald Pedersen

Rahul Walawalkar

Rahul Walawalkar, President - India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) believes: “We aim to focus on leveraging experience and explore the opportunities in the emerging hydrogen market. This is the decade for Indian industries to invest in earlystage technologies and make India a global hub for manufacturing and R&D. We at IESA, are continuously working on addressing the issues of the industry and discussing the way ahead in collaboration with the industry.”

Sturle Herald Pedersen, Chairman - Greenstat Hydrogen India considers: “We need to work together in tackling the global challenge. There is no industry or government that can solve this challenge by itself. In India, we need a large-scale project to demonstrate the value chain across the sectors. For the last 15 years, there have been new projects initiated in Norway and we are working with MNCs to be able to set these projects in other countries as well.” “Improving energy efficiency has been one of the research areas and we are working towards it. The Centre of Excellence in India is working with governments to create an ecosystem. We are working in Kolkata, Chennai on different pilot projects,” Pedersen added.

With the hydrogen economy set to boom in the next few years globally, Europe is emerging as the clear leader in planned installations and government policy supporting the sector. The steel industry accounts for 4 percent of all the CO2 emissions in Europe and 22 percent of the industrial carbon emissions in Europe. Replacing coal with hydrogen seems a promising option for decarbonizing the steel production process.

Global investment

India’s great need for energy in the future has led to substantial investments in renewable energy. Of the total installed capacity today, 22 percent entails solar and wind. But until now, India has not capitalized on hydrogen, unlike China and South Korea who are leading the development. As many other countries (Australia, the EU, and more), India has now decided that hydrogen will play an important role in the country’s energy mix, as well as meeting national and global climate goals. Asia and the emerging economies are an extremely exciting and attractive market for Greenstat, and for exporting Norwegian proficiency and technology in sustainability.

Thierry Lepercq

Jean Louis Kindler

Jean Louis Kindler, CEO Ways2H remarks: “Green hydrogen is extremely important and has a good opportunity globally. Today, India’s grid capacity is running at 45 percent at 380 GW. The country

Thierry Lepercq, Founder- DH2 energy (author - Hydrogen is the New Oil), said: “There is immense demand for manufacturing hydrogen globally. For example, in steelmaking, European steelmakers have decided to move towards hydrogen production and convert all their existing plants into hydrogen and deliver zero-carbon steel. As steelmakers, they can only survive with zero-carbon steel. The market demand for products based on green hydrogen is driving the transition.”

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78 “The zero-carbon transition is the new-age business strategy and it is happening. In the case of India, the way to approach zero-carbon emissions is to combine the potential demand upstream and downstream with sustainable financing. Hydrogen, a climate product supported by the government, is an interesting story. The transformation of the business approach will happen at scale,” Lepercq added.

Investments enabling zero-carbon economy

Hydrogen is seen as a critical component of greening Europe’s energy market and delivering with the aim of becoming the first carbonneutral continent by 2050. In July 2020, the EU had announced its ‘European Green Deal’ to enhance its commitment to tackling climate and environmentalrelated challenges. The hydrogen strategy focuses on hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources. The objective is to decarbonize hydrogen production and expand its use in sectors where it can replace fossil fuels. Though the focus is on green hydrogen, the EU Hydrogen Strategy recognizes the role of another low-carbon hydrogen in the evolution phase in the shortto medium-term. The ambitious scaling up will also entail a large number of investments to realize the zero-carbon economy.

Union has announced the Hydrogen Strategy last year. It is consuming 10 million tons of hydrogen at present. So, more hydrogen will be required in the upcoming years. We estimate a total of €420 billion of investment will be required to enhance the pipeline of projects. We need to create hydrogen valleys and it is underway in the Netherlands and will gradually move across Europe over the period time. To realize this strategy, there is a need to scale up electrolyzers and standardized modules.” Sharing his thoughts on India’s e m e r g i n g h y d r o g e n s e c t o r, Biebuyck believes that “for India, the certification methodology for CO 2 emissions is mandatory. We have to work towards bringing the total cost of hydrogen production and flourish accordingly.”

Natural Gas and Hydrogen

Natural gas has a key part to play in reducing EU emissions and has been since 1990. By 2030, in parts of Europe, using natural gas will displace coal and oil thereby improving air quality and reducing carbon emissions contributing to increased ambition for GHG reduction. The obligation would be on the natural gas to ultimately decarbonize itself to help deliver on a bona fide carbon-neutral economy, and several options to achieve this are being produced today such as biomethane and hydrogen (both blue and green).

James Watson

James Watson, SecretaryGeneral – Eurogas, stated: “We represent the European gas system. We believe there is a huge opportunity for hydrogen in Europe. There will be strong electrification globally as we have in Europe. The opportunity is huge for an effective system to convert hydrogen for multiple applications. There is a huge target of 40 GW by 2040 in terms of hydrogen. There is a need for a strategy for the import of hydrogen to the EU to meet its needs and drive the market.”

Speaking about the need for policy enhancement to support the Indian hydrogen sector, Watson advocates: “India should consider policies aimed at driving the hydrogen along with a specific target for CO2 emissions and will enhance investments. The country will benefit from the global development on the future of hydrogen.”

Bart Biebuyck

Bart Biebuyck, Executive Director - Fuel Cells and Hydrogen (FCH), JU, said: “The European

Eurogas vision of Hydrogen for 2030-2050 compared to European Commission vision (Source: Eurogas)

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Enhancing hydrogen storage technology

Hydrogen progressively looks likely to have a role to play in accomplishing decarbonization targets globally, and investments and innovation are scaling up. But costs remain high and for clean hydrogen to be most effective at integrating high shares of renewable energy, storage is important. The success of hydrogen in becoming a mainstream, clean energy or consumer fuel is reliant on the development of a safe system for transportation and robust hydrogen storage materials. Storing hydrogen gas has become one of the most relevant research and development areas surrounding hydrogen technology, and will be the key to mainstream adoption.

energy source and is investing 84.8 billion yen ($802 million) in fiscal 2021. It was the first country to adopt a ‘Basic Hydrogen Strategy’ as early as 2017. This strategy principally aims to achieve cost parity with competing fuels such as gasoline in the transportation sector or liquefied natural gas (LNG) in power generation and covers the entire supply chain from production to downstream market applications. The government has begun investing in R&D and providing an expansion of the hydrogen infrastructure (including support for low-cost, zero-emission hydrogen production) for import and transport abroad within Japan, and an increase of hydrogen use in various areas such as mobility, cogeneration of power, and heat, as well as power generation.

Eiji Ohira

Matt Fairlie

Matt Fairlie, Vice-Chair - Next Hydrogen Corporation, stated: “We need to rethink the energy storage objective. Green hydrogen production requires a cost-effective storage alternative. It is important to develop a renewable generation grid for sustainable power demand mitigation. The financing for large hydrogen plants is only possible when we think of a high-value market and align our technologies accordingly.”

Japan’s emerging hydrogen sector

Japan’s massive investment in hydrogen energy is directed at positioning the nation as a world leader in the energy economy. It was one of the first countries to commit to pursuing hydrogen as an alternative

Eiji Ohira, Director General Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Group, Japan New Energy and Industrial Te c h n o l o g y D e v e l o p m e n t Organization (NEDO), emphasized: “We aim to promote decarbonization across the sectors and advocate the use of renewable sources. There is an opportunity for green growth through a sustainable strategy. The goal is to reduce the cost of hydrogen production. There have been massive efforts put into R&D activities and developing hydrogen pipelines, transportation. Japan has the vision to accelerate its activities in enhancing hydrogen exploration.”

Business case for hydrogen production

Corporate PPAs can provide a long-term revenue solution and thereby facilitate the cost-efficient, long-term financing of a new build project.

Massimiliano Cervo

Massimiliano Cervo, FMVA, Director - Business Development at H2helium Projetos de Energia Ltd., stated: “We have a different kind of CAPEX involved in buying power from centralized as well as decentralized generators. We need to try to focus on the variables impacting the most as a driver of hydrogen economics. The cost of capital has to be considered as it makes the impact to a greater extent. Cheap hydrogen without proper PPA is a faraway dream.” “There are two kinds of projects in hydrogen - bankable and emerging. Today, what private equity investors are trying to finance is the bankable project. The offtake of the emerging market is uncertain as the applications do not guarantee profits. We need to think of financing startup and encourage them to take up emerging projects. Hydrogen needs a real cash flow. The energy industry is in the transition phase,” Massimiliano added.

US hydrogen road map

The US Department of Energy (DOE) released its Hydrogen Program Plan to provide a strategic framework for the Department’s hydrogen research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) activities. This version of the plan updates and expands upon previous versions including the 2006 Hydrogen Posture Plan and the 2011 DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program Plan. It has also announced up to $64 million in funding to advance innovations that will build new markets for the H2@Scale initiative. This investment will support transformational research and development, innovative hydrogen concepts that

May–June 2021 |

80 will encourage market expansion and increase the scale of hydrogen production, storage, transport, and use.

H2@Scale: Enabling affordable, reliable, clean, and secure energy. Source: U.S. DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office.

GCC embraces hydrogen a n d

Dr. Sunita Satyapal

Dr. Sunita Satyapal, Director - Hydrogen, and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, U.S Department of Energy (DoE), stated: “At US DOE, we aim to enable renewables and go completely green and be a zero-carbon country by 2050. We produce 10 million MT of hydrogen in the US. We have launched projects in addition to R&D to explore hydrogen applications in several regions across the US. There are quite a few targets to set a goal and signal the investment community to leverage partnerships and accelerate the progress in hydrogen development. We have enhanced our global efforts towards a robust alternative as well as sustainable energy ecosystem and accelerate carbon-neutral environment.”

As decarbonization becomes progressively imperative globally, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are looking to diversify their economies away from hydrocarbons while maintaining a central role in the global energy system. Given plentiful natural gas, the region is sure to be a prime location for blue hydrogen development with carbon capture and storage, but it is the prospect of large-scale green hydrogen production that is firing up imaginations – and fuelling investment.

EU’s green hydrogen ambition

Governments globally realize that clean hydrogen, which can be produced from renewable electricity or hydrocarbons with CCS, will play an indispensable role in reaching the Paris Agreement goals. Hydrogen is a versatile and lowcarbon energy carrier that can drive down GHG emissions in otherwise difficult sectors to decarbonize. The European Union has set a target to provide a total of 40GW of electrolyser capacity to produce green hydrogen by 2030.

Frank Wouters

Frank Wouters, SVP-Energy Transition - Reliance Industries, said: “We expect massive growth in hydrogen demand by 2030 and there is a huge opportunity for the same. Korea, Japan,

| May–June 2021

Europe have limited opportunities for renewables and will remain net importers for hydrogen. The cheapest way to transport hydrogen is through gas pipes and it is cheaper than electrical cables. The market in India looks promising.”

Green hydrogen in Australia

The key use of hydrogen in Australia is in the form of raw material for industrial processes. Use of renewable hydrogen will assist Australia to ease emissions in the high-temperature industries as well as transport segments. The Australian Renewable E n e r g y A g e n c y ’s r e p o r t o n ‘Opportunities for Australia from Hydrogen Exports’, studied that global demand for traded hydrogen would be around three million tons each year by 2040, adding up to around $10 billion each year to the economy. In 2019, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Energy Council recommended a National Hydrogen Strategy. It was developed by a taskforce steered by Dr Alan Finkel, Australia's Chief Scientist. The strategy charts out a comprehensive roadmap for the development of a clean, innovative,safe, and competitive hydrogen industry.

It also identified around 57 mutual actions to be taken by the Australian government in approximately seven areas: • National coordination • Developing production capacity, supported by local demand • Responsive regulation • International engagement • Innovation and R&D • Skills and workforce • Community confidence The actions consider hydrogen concerning exports, transport, industrial use, gas networks, electricity systems, and crosscutting issues such as safety, skills, and environmental impacts. Alongside the strategy, the taskforce also launched AusH2 – the Australian Hydrogen Opportunities Tool. AusH2 permits consumers to explore potential hydrogen production sites by means of powerful and customizable geospatial data capability.

Ben Todd

Ben Todd, Founder-CEO Arcola Energy, stated: “We are specialists in hydrogen fuel cell integration focused on zero-emission heavy trucks. We are making a massive transition to hydrogen on a global scale. We are still in the development stage. Low-cost commercial finance is no match for large-scale product development. With 10-plus years of fuel cell vehicle engineering experience, we are building upon the prospect that the sector has to offer. Arcola Energy is leading the consortium to deliver Scotland’s first hydrogenpowered train.”

IESA initiatives

Craig Ehrke

Craig Ehrke, CEO - Skai Energies, stated: “In Australia, core engineering feasibility studies have been conducted on hydrogen. There is a lot of reinvention. Various stakeholders are talking about collaborations. With collaborations, technical solutions are being worked out. We look to leverage our learnings and advanced emerging markets here.”

In its ongoing series of industry roundtables for emerging clean hydrogen technology, India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) under the MIGHT (Mobility and Infrastructure with Green Hydrogen Technologies) initiative, conducted the global roundtable on ‘Green Hydrogen and Hydrogen Mission for India’ in May with the theme of ‘International Collaboration Technology Roadmap for India’. The global roundtable deliberated on the recently announced National Hydrogen Energy Mission that aimed to draw up a road map for using hydrogen as an energy source.

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COMPANY & ADVERTISER INDEX / IMPRINT

A123 Systems 40 Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI) 47 Ampcera Inc. 53 Applied Material 50 Arcola Energy 81 Asahi Kasei Corp. 51 Australian Renewable Energy Agency 80 Automotive Energy Supply Corporation 40 BASF 42 BASF e-mobility 53 Beijing Institute of Chemical Reagents 53 Benchmark Mineral Intelligence 39 Bertree New Materials Group Co. Ltd. 47 BloombergNEF 40 BMW 74 Boston Power 40 BYD 40 BYD Company 40 CATL 40 Celgard LLC 51 Central Glass 53 Chery 75 China BAK Battery 40 Council of Australian Governments (COAG) 80 Customized Energy Solutions (CES) 40 Daimler 74 Department of Heavy Industries (DHI) 20 Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, IIT Madras 47 Department of Science and Technology (DST) 71 Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India 47 DH2 energy 77 Dongfeng 75 Dongguan Shanshan (DGSS) 53 DuPont 50 Elkem 47 Energy Storage Association (ESA) 70 ENTEK International 51

Epsilon Carbon 48 Eurogas 78 Exicom Tele-Systems 41 Ford 74 Foshan Jinhui High-Tech Optoelectronic Material Co. Ltd. 50 Fuel Cells and Hydrogen (FCH), JU 78 GAC 75 Greenstat Hydrogen India 77 GS Yuasa International 40 Guangzhou Tinci Materials 53 Gulf Cooperation Council 80 Guotai Huarong 53 H2helium Projetos de Energia Ltd 79 Himadri Speciality Chemical Lt 48 Hitachi Chemical 40 HPQ Silicon Resources 48 India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) 70 Institut National de Recherche Scientifique (INRS) 47 Japan New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) 79 JFE Chemical Corporation 47 Jiangxi Zichen Technology Co. Ltd. 47 Johnson Controls International 40 Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. (KABIL) 72 L&T 14 LG Chem 40 LG Chem Power (LGCPI) 40 LITEC 40 Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) 71 Ministry of Power (MoP) 71 Mitsubishi Chemical 43 Mitsubishi Chemical India Pvt. Ltd. 48 Mitsui Chemicals 53 MTI Corporation 46 MU Ionic Solutions Corporation (MUIS) 53 Nexcharge Inc 41 NEXEON Limited 47 Next Hydrogen Corporation 79 Ningbo Shanshan Co. Ltd. 47

Nippon Carbon Co. Ltd. 47 Niti Aayog 68 Oxford Institute for Energy Studies 38 Panasonic Corporation 41 Panax-Etec 53 POSCO 43 PyroGenesis Canada 47 Reliance Industries. 68 Saft Batteries 40 SAIC-GM-Wuling 75 Samsung SDI 40 Samsung SDI 50 ShanShan 35 Shantou Jinguang High-Tech 53 Shenzhen Capchem 53 SK Innovation Co Ltd 50 Skai Energies 81 Soulbrain 53 Stellantis 74 Sumitomo 50 Sumitomo Chemical Co Ltd 51 Targray Technology International Inc. 49 Tata Chemicals 41 Tesla 50 The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) 32 Tianjin Jinniu 53 Toray Industries Inc 50 Toshiba Corporation 40 UBE Industries 50 Umicore 24 Underwriters Laboratories 62 US Department of Energy (DoE) 79 Vianode 47 Ways2H 77 World Resources Institute (WRI) 40 XG Sciences Inc. 47 Zhuhai Smoothway 53

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Chief Editor and General Manager Publications: Ashok Thakur Consulting Editor: Nishtha Gupta-Vaghela Assistant Editor: Shraddha Kakade Assistant Editor: Moulin Oza Contributing Editor: Kathy Priyo Corporate Communications: Swati Gantellu Design Consultant: SP Sneha President – IESA & MD, CES India: Dr Rahul Walawalkar Executive Director IESA: Debi Prasad Dash

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