Renewable Energy or Renewables is the buzzword for this decade, the following ten years will decide the fate of humanity. Humanity claims to be the most intelligent species and the amazing portfolio justifies that and makes me optimistic.
Though we can pinpoint a lot of sources of renewable energy that can be used to extract green energy, regarding them as highly efficient is a misnomer. The energy generated from carbon-free sources is intermittent and our demand is very much the opposite of intermittent, hence engineers, scientists, governments, researchers, innovators, investors are looking for ways to bypass this issue of intermittency.
Advanced Chemistry Cells (ACC):
The judicious use of science leads to a handful of solutions and opportunities to develop a green economy and provide employment, one such solution is Advanced Chemistry Cells.
Advanced Chemistry Cell Battery Storage is an advanced technology that is used to store electric energy in the form of electrochemical or electric energy and the stored energy can be converted to electricity as per demand hence providing a sense of control over the consumption of electricity to the owner/consumer.
If utilized to its full potential, then this will solve the problem of intermittency and make carbon-free electricity more reliable, it will also boost the battery-consuming sectors such as electric vehicles, consumer electronics, and solar rooftop systems.
Efforts by the Indian Government:
Recently the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved a PLI (Production Linked Incentive) Scheme for the ‘National Programme on the Advanced Chemistry Cell Battery Storage’ (proposed by the Department of Heavy Industry) to achieve a manufacturing capacity of 50 Giga Watt Hour of ACC and 5 Giga Watt Hour of “Niche” ACC (the world needs 5000 Gigawatts or billion watts to function) with an outlay of rupees 18,100 crores. Just to tell you what this means, New York City runs on upwards of 12 gigawatts, depending on the season, so if we are successful in achieving this target then we can provide the cities similar to New York and Tokyo with zero-carbon electricity.
Currently, all the demands of ACCs are being satisfied through imports in India, so if we manage to make it in India it will boost the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative and provide jobs this will also help in the growth of the manufacturing sector in India.
Features:
- Manufacturers will be selected through a transparent competitive bidding process.
- Manufacturing unit to be commissioned within two years.
- The incentive will be hand out for 5 years.
- The incentive amount will increase with the increase in specific energy density and cycles along with increased domestic value addition.
- Each manufacturer has to commit to set up a manufacturing unit of 5 Giga Watt Hour and secure 60% domestic value addition at the Project level within 5 years.
- Within 2 years the beneficiary firms need to achieve at least 25% of domestic value addition and raise it to 60% within the next five years, the firms also need to sustain the mandatory investment of Rs 225 Crore/ Gwh.
- This needs to be followed by the beneficiaries at the Mother Unit Level, in case of an integrated unit or at the Project level, in the case of the “Hub and Spoke” Structure.
Expected Outcomes:
- A cumulative setup of 50 Gwh manufacturing capacity.
- A game-changer for the EV sector as it will help to build a feasible infrastructure and reduce GHG emissions.
- Accelerate the EV adoption.
- Give a boost to Make-In-India and Atmanirbhar initiative.
- Net savings of Rs 2 to 2.5 lakh crore on the account of oil import bill reduction.
(Suggestion – Some amount can be contributed to the Green Climate Fund and then the amount left can be allocated to the R&D of Carbon capture and Adaptation technologies.)
- Import substitution of around Rs 20,000 crore/year.
- Direct investment of around Rs 45,000 crore in this sector.
So we do have the science, the tech-know how, the support of the state but the real question is:
Are you willing to take the leap and take a journey from an employee to an employer?
Remember people, together India can and India will Save the Planet!
Source and Reference:
PIB
