Big industries could help the Central laboratories to develop technology for renewable energy, said Union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan.
After laying the foundation stone for Innovation Centre for Next Generation Energy Storage Solutions (ICeNGESS) here at the Central Electrochemical Research Institute’s Madras unit in Taramani on Sunday, he said: “We have an ambitious goal of getting e-mobility by 2030. The scientists are in tune with the Prime Minister. This particular movement is from one laboratory supported by other laboratories.”
CECRI director N. Kalaiselvi, in an informal interaction with reporters, said the aim was to develop a refurbishing technology using the lithium extracted from spent batteries.
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The country, with the distinction of having more number of mobile phones and e-gadgets than connectivity, would provide sufficient source of lithium, a rare metal, she explained. By just extracting the lithium in the used batteries, India could develop enough batteries for use by its citizens for another round.
“We can survive for another six or eight years with the refurbishing technology. We are coming up in a small way and now we are going for a patent. This project is expected to be completed in two years. We will then come up with a mature technology of refurbishing,” she said.
Currently, CECRI has the capacity to manufacture 100 batteries and proposed to improve it by 10 times. CSIR, New Delhi has supported the project with ₹100 crore fund. A fuel cell testing facility with Central government funding of ₹4 crore is also coming up.
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