Tech Tour to International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy & New Materials (ARCI)
Tech Tour to International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy & New Materials (ARCI)
International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI) established during the year 1996-97, is an autonomous Research and Development Centre of Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India with its main campus at Hyderabad, spread over an area of around 95 acres of land, Telangana.
- Visit 1: To the Centre for Nanomaterials at ARCI
The Centre for Nanomaterials at ARCI was established with a mandate to develop technologies for large-scale production of nanopowders and also to explore their utilization for applications which cater to either a large Indian market or a market unique to India. The Centre has made substantial contribution to the development of materials related to energy, powder metallurgy, composites, biomaterials, nanomaterials and advanced manufacturing. The centre houses a vast array of synthesis, processing and characterization facilities.
Some of the thrust areas of the centre are
- electrode materials for Li-ion, Li-S batteries, supercapacitors, Li-ion capacitors, aerogels for thermal insulation applications,
- The centre has undertaken projects of national importance such as the National Electric Mobility and Clean Coal initiative of the Government of India.
- New technologies such as Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) electrode material and Dispersion strengthened tungsten plates are transferred to industries.
- The centre has taken up new initiatives for the development of materials for Na-ion batteries, and extraction of rare earth metals
- Visit 2: To the Development of Lithium Ion Batteries
The key challenge for electric vehicles is to get suitable battery to store the required amount of energy in a given volume for long driving range and speed. Lithium-ion battery (LIB) has been proven to be next generation technology to alleviate these problems. However, currently there are no cell manufacturers of these batteries in India. ARCI has undertaken a major task to developed LIB technology for electric vehicles by setting up a pilot plant facility for manufacturing of Lithium-ion cells and battery packs for automotive application. The objective is to establish the LIB technology using standard materials and demonstrate off-line/on-board vehicle testing. In addition high voltage/new materials will be developed indigenously. The promising materials will be optimized and scale-up for process technology.
Key Features
- ARCI has successfully fabricated prismatic/cylindrical cells (up to 20 Ah) and LIB module up to 48V, 1 kWh
- A fast cell formation protocol (6h) was developed and patented which is anticipated to reduce the cell production cost
- ARCI is developing several cathodes, anodes, and binder materials that could increase the performance and lifetime of LIBs. The cathode materials include LFP, NMC, NCA, LMO, LNMO, FeF3 whereas high energy/power density anodes include Si, Sn, MoO3, WO3, SnO2, Fe3O4, graphene, carbon nanohorns/nanotubes.
- Scaled up LiFePO4 by FSP process and scale-up of carbon coating technology up to 1.5 kg
- Lithium titanate was successfully synthesized and up-scaled by cost-effective high energy milling method and showed promising electrochemical performance
Time: 9:00 AM IST to 2 PM IST (including Lunch)
Date: 25th January 2024
