India’s first hands-on training session for pouch cell fabrication and battery testing was held in Pune on March 11 and 12. The lab and classroom sessions were specially designed for companies interested in learning about the latest technology trends and understanding the fundamentals of cell manufacturing. Ten participants from leading companies across battery manufacturing, automotive component manufacturing, ESS technology, and investment companies participated in the workshop

Speaking about the workshop, Dr. Bharat Kale, Director of Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (CMET) said: “CMET is glad to be part  of India Energy Storage Alliance which has a vision of making India a global hub for R&D, manufacturing and adoption of advanced energy storage and e-mobility technologies. Through Centre of Excellence  of  reachable  batteries  created  by  Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), New Delhi, CMET has the Li-ion fabrication facility for Cathode, Anode and for Single Cell." 

"Currently, Indian battery manufacturers are importing single cells and making batteries of different capacities required in different verticals. We’re glad that at CMET we have materials for battery fabrication. It is our responsibility to support the industry so that India can pick up Li-ion manufacturing instead of depending on other countries. India’s first workshop by IESA along with CMET is a step towards it. We thank MeitY for creating such a facility and further [Li-ion fabrication] initiative in this regard at CMET Pune”.

Dr. Rahul Walawalkar, President, India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) commented, “Li-ion battery has become the preferred technology in many battery storage applications due to its relatively high energy and power density as well as fast charge discharge capabilities. The battery pack manufacturers in India are currently assembling high capacity packs with the goal to target electric vehicles and stationary storage market. Assembling of Li-ion battery packs is a dynamic industry in India and is growing at a healthy pace. At IESA, we, however believe that it is high time for Indian industry to take up R&D and advanced cell manufacturing so that we reduce our dependence on other countries. The recent pandemic related to COVID19 has highlighted the importance of domestic manufacturing considering the risk of global supply chain disruptions. Energy storage and EVs have importance for national energy security and we should learn from the recent events and accelerate our efforts for building domestic capabilities.”

Dr. Satyajit Phadke, Manager- R&D, Customized Energy Solutions, who led the workshop highlighted that “So far such training was mainly available in developed countries such as Germany and US. This workshop is our effort to help bring down the costs of such training capabilities and also help industry get better appreciation of the R&D facilities available within India. Our R&D initiative is industry- focused and we’re helping clients to solve the challenges that they are facing while deploying storage solutions for any application be it stationary, EVs or other."