Incentives for local manufacture of batteries- Indian policy Vs European poicy

 Production subsidy- India

The government of India has earmarked Rs 18,100 crore as approved financial outlay for implementing the PLI scheme in the Advance Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery vertical. NITI Aayog and Department of Heavy Industries has been made the implementing agency for the same. Subject to Clause 11.5, 11.6, 11.7 and 11.8, , the Beneficiary Firm shall be entitled to avail the Subsidy in accordance with this Agreement for a period of 10 (ten) years from the Appointed Date.Notwithstanding anything contained herein, the cumulative Subsidy payable by the Government to the Beneficiary Firm during the Term of this Agreement, shall not exceed INR 1,420 crore (Rupees one thousand and four hundred and twenty crores) per GWh.

R&D subsidy-Europe

Plan to develop local capability was more elaborate and layered in Europe.  The European Battery Alliance (EBA) was launched in 2017 by the European Commission, EU countries, industry, and the scientific community. 

This was followed by 1st round of 3.2 billion funding in 2019.The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules an Important Project of Common European interest (“IPCEI”) jointly notified by Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden to support research and innovation in the common European priority area of batteries.

2nd round of 2.9 billion public support was announce in 2021. The project, called “European Battery Innovation” was jointly prepared and notified by Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden. The twelve Member States will provide up to €2.9 billion in funding in the coming years. The public funding is expected to unlock an additional €9 billion in private investments, i.e. more than three times the public support. The project will cover the entire battery value chain from extraction of raw materials, design and manufacturing of battery cells and packs, and finally the recycling and disposal in a circular economy, with a strong focus on sustainability.

Request for Proposal (RfP) for selection of private entities to set-up manufacturing facilities that produce Advance Chemistry Cells (ACC).

The government of India has earmarked Rs 18,100 crore as approved financial outlay for implementing the PLI scheme in the Advance Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery vertical. NITI Aayog and Department of Heavy Industries has been made the implementing agency for the same. 

Advance Chemistry Cells (ACCs), as Niti Aayog defines it, are the new generation advance storage technologies that can store electric energy either as electrochemical or as chemical energy and convert it back to electric energy as and when required. 

The Bidder shall have a minimum Net Worth of INR 225,00,00,000 (Rupees two hundred and twenty-five crore only) per GWh, as per the capacity specified in its Technical Bid for the Financial Year preceding the date of submission of the Bid. 

In the first stage, the Technical Bid will be evaluated on the basis of the Value Addition (as defined in the Programme Agreement) committed by the Bidder, and the Scale of Production (as defined in the Programme Agreement) committed by the Bidder (the “Technical Capacity”). Only those Bidders who commit minimum 60% (sixty) percent Value Addition at the Project and installation of ACC manufacturing capacity between 5 GWh to 20 GWh, within 5 (five) years from the Appointed Date shall qualify for further consideration and shall be ranked from highest to the lowest on the basis of their technical score (ST).

Subject to Clause 11.5, 11.6, 11.7 and 11.8, , the Beneficiary Firm shall be entitled to avail the Subsidy in accordance with this Agreement for a period of 10 (ten) years from the Appointed Date.

Subject to Clause 11.5, 11.6, 11.7 and 11.8, , the Beneficiary Firm shall be entitled to avail the Subsidy in accordance with this Agreement for a period of 10 (ten) years from the Appointed Date.

Notwithstanding anything contained herein, the cumulative Subsidy payable by the Government to the Beneficiary Firm during the Term of this Agreement, shall not exceed INR 1,420 crore (Rupees one thousand and four hundred and twenty crores) per GWh.

The Structure of the documents and the Model of the bid adopted under the Programme encompasses the following key features, first, the cash subsidy shall be offered on output, i.e. the volume of cells manufactured and sold by the beneficiaries. Second, it’s a technology agnostic initiative, whereby only cells with higher performance specifications (i.e., Energy Density & Cycle Life) shall be eligible to avail of the incentives.

Download: https://niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2020-11/Model-Bid-Documents-ACC.pdf

Envia systems

Envia systems , an early stage start-up, has developed proprietary cathode material  ( High capacity Manganese rich ) which promises to reduce cost of Lithium Ion batteries. The technology was jointly developed with Argonne national lab.The start-up received funding from DOE and recently from GM Venture fund. Dr. Sujeet Kumar founding CEO of Envia Systems Inc is a product of BHU (1990) , Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Rochester and is the inventor of over 40 patents.


A battery component manufacturer can start small but faces more hurdles.Will Kumar change the rules of the game? 

Prof. Arumugam Manthiram

Prof Arumugam Manthiram, a graduate from Madurai University , Professor University of Texas is researcher on Lithium Ion Battery developing low-cost, high-energy, high power cathode materials and nanostructured, safe anode materials for portable and transportation applications.Start-up Actacell is based on his research. Researchers needing a high power pack for HEV can contact him.

Accessing critical technology by Chinese car manufacturers

The Chinese Car manufacturers , SAIC and Geely are in the race to build electric cars. And all they need is access to critical technology and it is interesting to see how they are going about accessing the critical technology,.
Yet-Ming Chiang, is Professor of Ceramics in MIT's Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Prof. Chiang's research focuses on the design, synthesis, and characterization of advanced inorganic materials and related devices. Current topics include new cathode and anode materials for lithium ion batteries, phase transformations in electroactive materials, electrochemical device design, electrochemical-to-mechanical energy conversion, self-assembling colloids, and the stability and defect chemical properties of interfaces in inorganic materials.
He holds several patents like Nano scale Ion Materials, Reticulated and controlled porosity battery structures, high energy high power electrodes. To take the lab technology to market, he was given an exclusive license for the patents that had been generated in his lab at MIT.
In 2001 he co-founded A123 Systems with Bart Riley (Bart Riley, got a degree from Cornell in ceramics ) and Ric Fulop. A123 Systems is currently one of the leading advanced-technology battery companies in the United States. The company filed over 160 patents, important among them is U.S. patent 7,338,734 entitled “Conductive Lithium Storage Electrode” one of the industry’s most comprehensive high-power lithium ion patent portfolios. This landmark patent protects A123’s unique Nanophosphate™ battery technology, which offers an advanced combination of power, safety and life.The technology is now enabling the use of lithium ion batteries in automotive applications, such as hybrid (HEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV), extended-range (E-REV), and pure electric vehicles (EV).

SAIC entered into joint venture with A 123 systems ,Shanghai Advanced Traction Battery Systems Co. (ATBS), to develop complete energy storage systems for all hybrid electric and pure electric vehicles manufactured by SAIC Motor and its wholly-owned subsidiaries.