S. Vishnu Sharma
IIT H incubated startup PURE EV has joined hands with with CSIR – Central Electro Chemical Research Institute (CECRI) with a motive of indigenizing Litium-Ion Battery (LIB) technology for electric vehicles.
CSIR – CECRI is headquartered in Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu and its extension counter is located at CSIR Madras Complex in Chennai.
IIT H incubated startup has signed the MoU with CSIR – CECRI to undertake joint research on production of battery packs, validation of LIBs and addressing the specific requirements to ensure the suitability of developed LIBs for critical performance at the Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) conditions.
IIT H incubated startup gives great boost to indigenisation
It is interesting to note that Litium battery is the most reliable and commercially viable choice for electric vehicles across the world.
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However, as far as India is concerned, these batteries are imported from China, which is a very critical dependence necessary for final battery packs required for electric vehicles.
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) launched CSIR Innovation Centre for Next Generation Energy Storage Solutions (ICeNGESS)’ with an aim to produce LIBs on a 100 MW scale.
IIT H incubated startup PURE EV is an electric vehicle vertical of the startup PuREnergy that is engaged in design and development of advanced LIBs manufacturing with core focus on battery thermal management system, hence making it one of the top picks in this mission.
Member of NITI Ayog and eminent defence scientist Dr. V.K. Saraswat speaking about the collaboration between IIT H incubated startup PURE EV and CSIR – CECRI said the collaboration will lead to important outcomes.
The important outcomes due to the collaboration between IIT H incubated startup and CSIR – CECRI will be in the areas of Battery Thermal Management System (BTMS) and Safety which are critical for mass scale commercialisation of these cells.
NITI Ayog strongly encourages such partnerships like the one between IIT H incubated startup PURE EV and CSIR – CECRI as they can lead to a more flexible supply chain for the evolution for an important industry like electric vehicles.
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Achieving self-reliance and developing core competence in Lithium cells manufacturing is important for the emergence of electric vehicles as a predominant mode of transportation in India, said Dr. Saraswat.
Since we are starting from a low base, it is critical that the eminent institutions working in the cell manufacturing also collaborate with the industry partners who can carry out accelerated testing to provide the necessary feedback for further improvements, said Dr. Saraswat.
Collaboration between IIT H incubated startup PURE EV and CSIR-CECRI is a big step in setting the path forward for indigenous Lithium-Ion technology to help the country in boosting electric vehicles apart for stationary and storage applications.
Under this MoU, IIT H incubated startup PURE EV will assist CECRI in the following areas:
# Production of battery packs with the inclusion of BMS of appropriate category to address thermal management and safety
# Validation and testing of LIB cells and battery packs for their suitability in mobility/stationary applications
# Battery packs for strategic applications by way of addressing the specific requirements and to ensure the suitability of CECRI developed LIBs for their critical performance at the mentioned SoP/SOC conditions
Speaking about the collaboration between CSIR – CECRI and IIT H incubated startup PURE EV Dr. Shekhar C. Mande, Secretary, DSIR and DG of CSIR said towards making India self-reliant in energy sector, CSIR-CECRI with its expertise in the field of electrochemical energy storage systems is working towards the indigenization of lithium battery technology and strengthen the indigenous supply chain and infrastructure requirements.
This collaboration with IIT H incubated startup PURE EV is an appreciable initiative and is expected to boost the electric vehicles commercialization in the country, he said.
Speaking about the tiep with IIT H incubated startup, Dr. N. Kalaiselvi Director of CSIR-CECRI, said CECRI is working on mission mode under the project titled ICeNGESS’ which would enable indigenous Lithium-Ion technology to help the country in addressing the requirements of its mission on electrification of two/three/four wheelers apart from stationary and storage applications.
The emphasis of this program falls under the umbrella of Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiatives of the Government of India, she said.
‘We look forward to a very fruitful collaboration with IIT H incubated startup who will be their industry partner in the battery pack assembly, testing and performance benchmarking.
‘We intend that such partnerships open up door for further collaboration opportunities.’
To reduce the dependency on imports of battery components, India needs to achieve the similar level of performance at the battery pack level, apart from just manufacture the battery cells.
Under this MoU, IIT H incubated startup will also provide critical feedback to CSIR- CECRI in understanding the technical limits of the manufactured cells and the additional improvements which will be required to achieve mass scale commercialization.
Chief Executive Officer of IIT H incubated startup Mr. Rohit Vadera said his collaboration with CSIR-CECRI to manufacture lithium batteries with indigenous cells for our high-speed EV 2W is matter of pride for PURE EV due to the long term interests of the nation.
Their extensive R&D work in the battery thermal management system gives them unique insights in the battery performance and lifecycle enhancement.
‘We will work closely with CECRI team in enabling them to realise full potential of their initiative.’
We will carry out extensive testing for performance validation across various EV 2W models across the pan India terrain conditions and benchmark with respect to the imported cells and providing them crucial feedback to achieve mass scale commercialization, he said.
MoU between IIT H incubated startup PURE EV and CSIR-CECRI is a very successful example of a startup achieving commercial success through technology demonstration and associating with a research institute of international prominence for commercial deployment of their products.
With the on ground learning of the company, PURE EV, the IIT H incubated startup will be able to provide CECRI with highly valuable insights towards commercialization of the technology.