Lithium Ion GIGAFACTORY

Prelims level : Economy Mains level : Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.
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In News:

  • State-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), one of India’s largest power generation equipment manufacturers, is in talks with Libcoin consortium to build Indian government’s first lithium-ion gigafactory as part of “Make in India” programme.

Explained:

  • Libcoin is a consortium comprising Magnis Energy, Duggal Family Trust and Charge CCCV s(C4V) and has plans to build large lithium-ion battery gigafactories globally.
  • Development of the gigafactory would initially start with the construction of a 1-gigawatt hour lithium-ion battery plant, which would be scaled up to 30 GWh in due course, with this, India has finally taken steps into its energy security and clean energy commitment to the world.
  • This project will bring energy independence by replacing oil imports with abundant renewable. This project also includes “Made by India, for India”, with focus on core-cost components manufactured domestically. It will also create integrated manufacturing ecosystem resulting in self-reliance and lower cost.
  • India is one of the largest markets in the world for lithium-ion batteries and to potentially build one of the world’s largest lithium-ion battery gigafactories
  • Various Indian cities including Delhi have been struggling to cut down their pollution level for last several years and electric transportation has been considered as one of the viable approaches to cut down emission.
  • The number of electric cars in the world already hit million-mark last year and the International Energy Agency has projected almost 140 million electric cars globally by 2030, if countries meet Paris climate accord targets, in which India has already committed to actively participate.

Lithium Ion Battery:

  • Lithium, it’s the lightest metal on the periodic table, and the one most willing to donate its electrons (the most powerful reducing agent) — you really can’t find an element that’s more suitable for creating light weight, high energy density batteries.
  • From portable electronics like the smartphone in your pocket, to high performance electric cars like the Tesla Model S, lithium ion batteries are currently the most promising chemistry on the market for meeting our renewable energy storage needs. Let’s take a closer look at lithium ion batteries.

Advantages of Lithium Ion bateeries:

  • High energy density – potential for yet higher capacities.
  • Does not need prolonged priming when new. One regular charge is all that’s needed.
  • Relatively low self-discharge – self-discharge is less than half that of nickel-based batteries.
  • Low Maintenance – no periodic discharge is needed; there is no memory.
  • Specialty cells can provide very high current to applications such as power tools.
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