What: Lithium Ion (Li-ion) Battery
Why: Production in the country
Who: CECRI and RAASI
- India will soon start manufacturing Lithium Ion (Li-ion) Batteries in the country.
- Central Electro Chemical Research Institute (CECRI), Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu under Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) and RAASI Solar Power Pvt Ltd have signed a Memorandum of Agreement for transfer of technology for India’s first Lithium Ion (Li-ion) Battery project.
- The Agreement was signed in Bengaluru on June 09, 2018 by Dr Vijayamohan K. Pillai, Director, CECRI and C. Narasimhan, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of RAASI Group.
- A group at CSIR-CECRI headed by Dr Gopu Kumar has developed an indigenous technology of Lithium-ion cells in partnership with CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL) New Delhi, CSIR- Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CSIR-CGCRI) Kolkata and Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT) Hyderabad. CSIR-CECRI has set up a demo facility in Chennai to manufacture prototype Lithium-Ion cells. It has secured global IPRs with potential to enable cost reduction, coupled with appropriate supply chain and manufacturing technology for mass production.
- India is one of the largest importers of Lithium Ion Battery and in 2017, it imported nearly 150 Million US Dollar worth Li-Ion batteries. Currently, Indian manufacturers source Lithium Ion Battery from China, Japan and South Korea among some other countries.
- As per the Union Science and Technology Minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan, it will give tremendous boost to two flagship programmes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi – increasing the share of Clean Energy in the energy basket by generating 175 Giga Watts by 2022, of which 100 Giga Watts will be Solar and the second, National Electric Mobility Mission, to switch completely to electric vehicles by 2030.
- Raasi Group will set up the manufacturing facility in Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu close to Bangalore.
About Li-Ion batteries
- It is rechargeable batteries having high energy density and uses intercalated lithium compound instead of metallic lithium as its electrode.
- Li-Ion batteries have applications in Energy Storage System – from hearing aid to container sized batteries to power a cluster of villages, Electric Vehicles (2-wheeler, 3-wheeler, 4-wheeler and Bus), portable electronic sector, Grid Storage, Telecom and Telecommunication Towers, Medical Devices, Household and Office Power Back (UPS), Powering Robots in Processing Industry.
- Lithium-ion batteries can power any electrical application without the need of physical wires-means wireless.
