Energetica India Magazine: september 2020

Dr Rahul Walawalkar President, India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) “It is high time for the Indian industry to take up R&D and advanced cell manufacturing so that we reduce our dependence on other countries.” How do you see the significance of World Energy Storage Day (WESD) amid Covid-19 scenario? And Why 22nd Sep- tember? D r R ahul : The onset of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) began in China, and quickly spread to South Korea. Together they comprise much of the world’s Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery man- ufacturing. China is dominant in the battery supply chain, as it accounts to three-quarters of battery manufacturing ca- pacity. The COVID-19 impact then expanded to Europe and North America, which together comprise a bulk of non-Chi- nese demand for those batteries. This progression created a series of disruptions in the supply chain for Li-ion batteries, which affected Indian electric vehicle and stationary energy storage market. Apart from Li-Ion batteries, due to continuous lockdown by Govt. of India, the Lead acid battery manufactur- ing industry was also affected by supply and demand gap. It affected all verticals of business from energy storage for re- newable integration, applications in residential back up, C&I back up, telecom, data centre, and others. While most market participants expected some delays, the extent of disruption may not be fully revealed for several months. The sun – the largest source of natural energy – has held much importance through the ages and people have gathered throughout time to worship the sun during the days of solstice and equinox with special rituals. The Autumnal equinox occurs on 22nd September and the day and night are of approximate- ly equal duration i.e. the day is balanced. Energy storage has played a huge role in grid balancing, power supply demand India is expected to attract investment in two-to-four Giga factories for advanced Li-ion batteries, attracting over $3 billion in investments in the next 3 years. The battery pack manufacturers in India are currently assembling high capacity packs with the goal to target electric vehicles and station- ary storagemarket. Assembling of Li-ion battery packs is a dynamic industry in India and is growing at a healthy pace, says Dr Rahul Walawalkar , President, India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA), in an exclusive interactionwith Manu Tayal , AssociateEditor, Energetica India. Dr Rahul sharedhis expert insights and thoughts on theoccasionof 4thWorld Energy StorageDay held in September this year. 14 energetica INDIA- September_2020 INTERVIEW