The world is witnessing unprecedented shifts in the energy and transportation sector.
The global race for advanced battery manufacturing for electrification of transportation and increasing RE penetration in the grid has already begun. Over the years, we have witnessed China, Japan and Korea take the lead in terms of the development of battery technology; in terms of cell manufacturing, China and Korea continue to be the leaders. In more recent years, Europe and the US have also started prioritizing the development of advanced battery manufacturing – and hold a significant lead.
In India, the government announced an ambitious target of setting up 50GWh capacity of advanced battery storage manufacturing three years back. But what is critical for India today is accelerating implementation and looking beyond 2025 targets. India, in the next few years, must undertake efforts to reach 500 GWh capacity by 2035 or at least 250 GWh by 2030, for it to emerge as a global hub for R&D, manufacturing, and adoption of advanced energy storage and EV technologies. As the Indian industry awaits the approval of the PLI, in past six months 24 Giga factories for Li-ion battery cells were announced with a total production capacity of over 600 GWh in Asian and European countries combined.
"India needs a structured program and scaling up of both demand and deployment in the battery storage manufacturing sector."
The Indian industry also needs concrete steps for demand generation for both stationary energy storage and the e-mobility sector. We think there is no need to wait for price reduction to happen, as it will happen through the process of learning-by-doing. What India therefore needs is a structured program and scaling up of both demand and deployment in the sector.
For corporates keen on starting their journey in the green energy and clean transportation sector, I urge them to join IESA's annual Energy Storage Solutions (ESS) meet and Electric Vehicle Adopters Circle (EVAC). Business support will remain crucial for driving climate action and meeting the country's decarbonization efforts. Through these initiatives, IESA strives to handhold organizations in the initial process till they gain a foothold in the industry.
Keeping with our continued efforts to promote sustainability and address climate change, this year too, ETN magazine has partnered with EARTHDAY.ORG for commemorating the 51st Earth Day to be held on April 22, 2021. ETN is honored to be a partner for the second consecutive year and release the Earth Day special issue of the ETN Magazine.
Taking inspiration from Earth Day and maintaining a focus on energy storage technologies that will enable deeper decarbonization, IESA is gearing up to organize the World Energy Storage Day (WESD) on September 22. In its fourth year, the global event will bring into focus the significance of energy storage across different industries and use-cases.
I urge all our ETN readers to join us for WESD-2021 and support IESA's efforts as we leap into the next phase of the energy transition.
