BHEL and Libcoin are planning to form a joint venture to initially build 1GWh lithium-ion battery plant in India.
The capacity of India’s first Lithium-ion battery factory will be scaled up to 30GWh as part of India government’s initiatives in energy security and clean energy. Core-cost components will be manufactured in India. It will create integrated manufacturing ecosystem resulting in self-reliance and lower cost.
BHEL will be sending a team of senior officers for study of the facilities, R&D infrastructure and other techno-commercial issues. This project will bring energy independence by replacing oil imports with abundant renewable.
The number of electric cars in the world hit million-mark last year. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has projected almost 140 million electric cars globally by 2030, if countries meet Paris climate accord targets.
Suzuki, Toshiba, and Denso April 2017 reached an agreement to establish a joint venture company for the production of automotive lithium-ion battery packs in India.
India Lithium Ion cell and battery market is expected to reach around 5 GWh in sales volume by 2023, according to Ken Research.
The Indian automobile produced 25.31 million vehicles, including commercial, passenger, two, and three vehicles and commercial quadricycle in April-March 2017, as against 24.01 million in April-March 2016.
The electric vehicles (EV) market is expected to increase the demand for lithium-ion batteries in India. Adani, Suzuki, Reliance Industries, IOCL, and JSW, are planning to set up lithium-ion battery manufacturing units in India.
The India lithium-ion battery market is expected to grow at CAGR of 29.26 percent during the forecast period 2018-2023.
The costs of lithium-ion batteries have fallen from $1000 per kWh in 2010 to $273 in 2016, and is expected to decrease further.
Libcoin Chairman Rajan Duggal said: “Our plan is to be the largest Lithium-ion battery manufacturer in India.”
Magnis Chairman Frank Poullas said: “India is one of the largest markets in the world for Lithium-ion batteries.”
BHEL has relationships with technology providers such as General Electric, Siemens, Metso Automation and Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
Rajani Baburajan