Indian lab to provide tech for country's 1st Li-ion battery plant

An Indian national laboratory has signed a transfer of technology deal with Bangalore-based Raasi Solar Power Pvt Ltd that is set to lead to India's first indigenous lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility.

Raasi Group plans to set up the plant in Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu, close to Bangalore.

The Central Electro Chemical Research Institute (CECRI), under the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), signed the memorandum of agreement with Raasi Solar on Saturday, the Ministry of Science and Technology announced. Science & Technology minister Harsh Vardhan said the deal will boost two flagship programmes of prime minister Narendra Modi -- achieving 175 GW of clean energy, including 100 GW solar by 2022, and switching completely to electric vehicles by 2030.

CSIR-CECRI has developed the lithium-ion technology in partnership with other CSIR institutions and has set up a demo facility in Chennai to produce prototype lithium-ion cells.

Raasi Group's chairman-cum-managing director C Narasimhan said the company wants to bring down the cost of cell manufacturing below INR 15,000 (USD 222/EUR 189) per KW to replace lead acid batteries and also plans to produce lithium-ion batteries for rooftop solar.

(INR 100 = USD 1.480/EUR 1.257)

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