Energy Storage

A gloomy atmosphere currently hangs over the lithium-ion supply chain. Stationary battery storage equipment and electromobility offer tremendous opportunities. Yet many experts have concerns about the raw material supply and recycling situation. Christian Hagelüken, the Director of EU government affairs at Umicore, a major recycler and supplier of cobalt, explains his view of the situation.

“Lead-acid batteries are comparatively cheaper than other battery types such as Ni-MH and Li-ion. Moreover, these have the highest recyclability percentage of any product, and are therefore likely to find more takers owing to their reduced cost of production,” according to industry participants at the International Lead Conference held in Spain.

Government-owned Central Electronics Limited has invited Expression of Interest for executing battery energy storage system projects on turnkey basis in India. The deadline for submission is July 31, 2019.

The charging stations should preferably be connected with grid-connected solar power plants of required capacity as per MNRE guidelines. The deadline for submission of the proposals is August 20.

The Mumbai-headquartered rural banking services provider will set up the electric vehicle charging infrastructure across its huge network of Nextgen outlets, which it plans to increase from current 3504 to 300,000 by FY 2024-25.

While it is often stated only 5% of lithium-ion batteries are recycled, a review of research into the second life and recycling of lithium-ion batteries suggests that is a gross understatement. A new study found almost 100,000 tons of waste batteries were recycled last year – about half of what reached end-of-life.

Plummeting costs, industry maturity, and the ever-increasing penetration of global renewables are expanding the use cases for battery storage technology. Over the past year and a half, storage projects are increasing significantly in both scope and capacity.

The move is the latest attempt by the newly-elected state government to reverse renewable energy commitments made under the previous administration.

The ‘inverted umbrella’ shaped canopies use monocrystalline flexible solar panels on top to generate electricity for functions like mobile and laptop charging, and lighting.

The new budget aims to seize the opportunity in energy storage and EVs through a range of incentives. However, alongside demand, production and export, the government also needs to focus on e-waste management and Li-ion battery recycling to sustain raw material supply and minimize environmental impact.