Context :
(
Business Line / 26 Sept 2022 )
Extract :
Ø The government is working on voluntary gap
funding (VGF) for battery storage projects, as well as floating a production
linked incentive (PLI) scheme for grid-scale storage, said Power Minister RK
Singh.
Ø Question :
What battery technologies are you exploring ?
Ø Shri Singh said :
“ There are two. One technology being developed is Sodium-ion,
which is supposed to be more amenable to use for grid-scale storage
Another chemistry developed in US is again suited for grid-scale battery storage
This technology is being used by China. I have asked officials to
explore this because when they can offer a license to a Chinese company, then
they can also offer this to us.
If we do not do this, then we will lag in energy transition “
===================================================
My Take
:
{ A }………… Sodium-ion Battery
Ø Congratulations
, Shri GopuKumarji………………………….. [ 30 Jan 2019 ]
Extract :
Dear Shri GopuKumarji,
Just came
across the following news report in today’s Business Line :
Govt-owned electrochemical lab cracks sodium-ion cell tech
It reads :
CECRI…..will be ready to license technology for the mass production of Sodium
Ion cells, if things go as planned .
The production could be a big pep to Electric mobility because sodium-
ion batteries cost a tenth of the conventional lithium ion batteries
Sodium, available in abundance in sea water, has long been a preferred option,
but the metal is also
tricky to handle due to its reactive nature.
The difficulty has not deterred scientists at CECRI from trying, who have already
developed the technology for making lithium-ion cells and have offered to it to the
industry.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Congratulations to your entire team on this
“ game changing “ breakthrough – especially considering that ,
# India has no deposits of Lithium and must spend heavily to import it from
Bolivia-China etc
# Extracting Sodium from our abundant
supply of sea water is not an issue
I take the liberty to endorse this email to
our :
Cabinet Ministers
NITI aayog
Members of PM’s Economic Advisory Council
Members of PM’s Scientific , Technology and Innovation Council
Trade Associations ……..etc
I urge the Central Government to take the
following steps URGENTLY :
# Without waiting for the next Republic Day , announce award of Bharat Ratna
to CECRI team
# Authorize CECRI to transfer this technology , FREE of any cost , to companies
( Foreign or Indian ) which set up manufacturing plants ( under a SPV ,
exclusively for this purpose ) in India .
These licensees shall be prohibited from transferring this technology to any
other Company anywhere
# No GST on Sodium-ion cells produced by these licensees , nor payment of any
Corporate Income Tax for
10 Years for these Licensees
If for any reason , it is not possible to exempt the entire income from
Corporate Income tax , then
, at least the income derived from exports of
sodium-ion cells , should be exempted
{ B } ….. Iron-Air Battery
Ø Grid
Storage Battery : 4 Years – and counting !........... [ 17 April 2022 ]
Extract :
Dear Shri R
K Singhji
( Minister – MNRE ) :
Australia .
In normal course, after a passage of 4 years, one would expect the costs to come
down
However given 500 % increase in Lithium prices, the GRID SCALE BATTERY
STORAGE costs must have gone up drastically.
Viability Gap Funding seems
out of the question
[ A ] ……….Iron-Air Batteries being manufactured
by FORM ENERGY
[ B ]……….Conductive Polymer Technology Batteries being manufactured
by PolyJoule
================================================
From FORM ENERGY website :
These battery modules are grouped together in modular megawatt-scale power
blocks, which comprise thousands of battery modules in an environmentally
protected enclosure.
Depending on the system size, tens to hundreds of these power blocks will be
connected to the electricity grid.
For scale, in its least dense configuration, a one megawatt system requires
about an acre of land.
Higher density configurations can achieve >3MW/acre.
Our battery systems can be sited anywhere, even in urban areas, to meet utility-
scale energy needs.
Dear Shri R K Singhji
,
I presume NDA government must have reasonable compulsions for not awarding
BHARAT RATNA to the CECRI team responsible for this break-through tech of
Sodium-ion Battery ( as suggested in my email )
But, it would vastly boost the morale and motivation of our scientists, if you
acknowledge their contribution in some public forum
With regard,
Hemen Parekh
hcp@RecruitGuru.com
/ 26 Sept 2022
RELATED READINGS :
US-funded
breakthrough battery tech just simply handed over to China ……….. [ 04 Aug 2022 ]
Extract :
A vanadium redox
flow battery (VRFB) design created at Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory (PNNL) has wound up in the hands of a Chinese company, which
has since gone on to become the largest
manufacturer of VRFBs in the world.
The US, which
owns the patent and invested $15 million of taxpayer dollars into its
development, reportedly has no domestic production site for the novel VRFBs.
The
U.S. made a breakthrough battery discovery — then gave the technology to China……..
[ 03 Aug 2022 ]
Extract :
The batteries were about the size of a refrigerator,
held enough energy to power
a house,
and could be used for decades.
The engineers pictured people plunking them
down next to their air conditioners, attaching solar panels to them, and everyone living
happily ever after off the grid.
And more than 5,200 miles away, a Chinese
company is hard at work making the batteries in Dalian, China.
The Chinese company didn't steal this
technology. It was
given to them —
by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Now, China has forged
ahead, investing millions into the cutting-edge green technology that was supposed to help keep the U.S. and its economy out front.
The department is now
conducting an internal review of the licensing of vanadium battery technology and whether this license — and others — have
violated U.S. manufacturing requirements, the statement said.
It took six years and more than 15 million taxpayer dollars for the
scientists to uncover what they believed was the perfect vanadium battery
recipe.
Others had made similar batteries with vanadium, but this mix was twice as powerful and did not appear to degrade the way cellphone
batteries or even car batteries do.
The researchers found the batteries capable of charging and recharging for as long as 30
years.