Energy Storage

Tata Power has signed the deal to set up electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at Apollo Tyres’ 150 branded retail outlets. In addition to the customers visiting these tyre retail outlets, the charging stations would be open for use by the general public as well.

Researchers in Portugal have tested how vanadium redox flow batteries can be integrated with rooftop PV to balance the system load to ensure firm power output. They proposed a 5 kW/60 kWh battery configuration for a 6.7 kW building-integrated PV microgrid. According to their findings, the battery can be used in different energy management strategy scenarios to better complement solar photovoltaic generation.

The budget presented today by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman allocates an extra INR19,500 crore (US$2,602 million) to the production-linked incentive scheme for solar and notifies basic customs duty of 40% on foreign-made solar modules and 25% on cells, from April.

An international research team has investigated how solar could be combined with thermoelectric coolers (TECs), which are small solid-state heat pumps used either for heating or for cooling. A system was built with six solar panels, an air duct system, four batteries, a charge controller, TECs, an inverter, heat sinks, a test chamber, and condenser fans.

Australian hydrogen vehicle and fuel cell startup H2X has partnered with Indian automotive parts manufacturer and developer Advik Hi-Tech in a deal which will see the Australian company’s products delivered into India and the wider international market.

Power minister RK Singh recently met with renewable energy developers and industry representatives to discuss the draft Policy on energy storage systems. He informed the participants the government is looking to delicense the setting up of energy storage systems not co-located with renewable energy generation facilities.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T), an Indian multinational EPC contractor, has partnered with Norway’s HydrogenPro to set up a joint venture in India for gigawatt-scale manufacturing of alkaline water electrolyzers. 

Global bids are invited to develop a cumulative 500 MW of energy storage system facilities on a ‘build-own-operate’ basis anywhere in India. The proposed plants can be set up in sizes ranging from 100 MW rising to 500 MW, with the capacity to store at least six hours of electricity—for example, a 500 MW project with a minimum energy storage capacity of 3,000 MWh. Bidding closes on March 11.

The hype surrounding green hydrogen is real, but does the cost-reduction outlook for its production technologies live up to it? Christian Roselund looks at the technology, transportation, application and enabling policies behind the promising green energy carrier.

Exide Leclanche Energy Private Limited, the joint venture with Swiss energy storage specialist Leclanché, has a lithium battery pack and module assembly factory in Gujarat.