Govt to come out with policy on advanced battery tech to power EVs

New Delhi, Feb 11 (PTI):
The government will adopt an integrated approach and come out with a policy to make India self-reliant in the area of advanced battery technologies to power electric vehicles and other applications, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday.
Pitching for an integrated approach for developing indigenous fuel cells in the field of electric vehicles, he said India stands at the cusp of becoming the world leader in this field as well as automobile manufacturing.
He made the remarks after chairing a high-powered meeting focussed on research and development in the area of alternative fuel. Central government’s Principal Scientific Advisor K Vijay Raghavan, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, Highways Secretary Giridhar Aramane and senior representatives from DRDO, ISRO, CSIR and IITs besides Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways VK Singh participated in the meeting.
“So far work is happening in silos in the area of alternative fuel. We will now work in an integrated and concerted manner bringing together the best technologies. We will also focus on economic viability…We need a policy in this regard and for it we have decided to take an integrated approach,” Gadkari told PTI. He said scientists, academia and industry can together harness green hydrogen-based energy through water, for it being a cost effective and easily available mode in the country. He indicated towards the lowering costs of solar power in India, which can help energise other modes of fuels.
“Vast scope is there in the area of Lithium-ion battery too despite countries like China dominating in the sector. About 81 per cent of Lithium-ion battery components are available locally and India stands a very good chance for value addition at lower costs.
“Our mining entities could look for acquiring component assets globally and grab the opportunity as China has occupied 51 per cent but still 49 per cent scope is there,” Gadkari said.