Energy storage

The energy storage market is set to be the latest affected by Trump’s trade war as lithium-ion batteries were excluded from the group of Chinese imports for which the U.S. president announced tariffs would be delayed until December 15.

The joint venture company—Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL)—will help India to secure strategic minerals from abroad for manufacturing of solar energy storage and EV batteries.

The global installed capacity will grow from a modest 9 GW/17 GWh as of 2018 to 1,095 GW/2,850 GWh in the next two decades. Just 10 countries will account for almost 75% of the overall gigawatt market, with China, USA, India and Germany leading the pack.

The Palo Alto company says it has improved its large scale battery offering with the new product in the wake of the success of its Powerpack-driven big battery in Australia. The Megapack can be deployed at a 250 MW/1 GWh clean energy plant four times faster than a fossil fuel alternative, claimed the business in a blogpost.

“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.

The Dholera Special Investment Region—known for the upcoming 5 GW solar park—has secured the first Lithium battery investment from Tata Chemicals, which has committed Rs 4000 crore to set up 10 GW capacity.

While India’s recent union budget announced steps to create an electric vehicle market, the solar sector still has issues that have not been addressed.

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.

The annual report has placed EVs at the heart of India’s decarbonization and called for an Indian answer to the U.S. ‘Motor City’ of Detroit, where electric vehicles and the batteries to run them could be manufactured.

To boost electric vehicle adoption in the country, the government has reduced goods and services tax on electric vehicles to 5% from 12%. Further, it will provide additional income tax deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh on interest paid on loans taken to purchase electric vehicles.