India's solar industry will continue to grow strongly through 2018, but various tariff negotiations are creating some unnecessary uncertainty.
India's central institute of chemistry (CEECRI) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Raasi solar power Pvt.Ltd. to build a lithium ion battery production base in Bengaluru, the ministry of science and technology announced Sunday.
CECRI researchers, led by Gopu Kumar, have developed a new lithium-ion battery technology.CECRI has set up a demonstration production facility in Chennai to prototype lithium-ion batteries.
The institute stresses that its production of lithium-ion batteries has acquired global intellectual property rights (IPRS), a technology that reduces production costs and can be used for mass production and commercialisation.
The Raasi Group, which will set up a manufacturing plant in Krishna jili in Tamil nadu, said it hopes to reduce the cost of making batteries to below INR15,000/KW(US$222) to replace lead-acid batteries.The group also plans to make lithium-ion batteries for solar roofs that can last 25 years at a competitive price.
According to the latest REN21 report, the solar sector helps create jobs.India reported 164,000 jobs in 2017, up 36% from a year earlier.In addition to reducing foreign exchange losses, India's battery industry is also likely to boost employment significantly.