IIT Hyderabad-incubated startup Pure EV is collaborating with CSIR – Central Electro Chemical Research Institute (CECRI), headquartered at Karaikudi with its extension centre in Chennai, on indigenising Lithium-Ion battery (LIB) technology for electric vehicles. Pure EV has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with CSIR- CECRI to undertake joint research on the production of battery packs, validation of LIB cells and addressing the specific requirements to ensure the suitability of developed LIBs for critical performance at the standard operating procedure (SoP) conditions. The MoU will set the path forward for indigenous Lithium-Ion technology and help the country boost EVs apart from stationary and storage applications. A lithium battery is the most reliable and commercially-viable choice for electric vehicles across the world. Currently, in India, Lithium cells are mainly imported from China, which is a very critical dependence necessary for final battery packs required for electric vehicles.
To address this market monopoly, CSIR has launched a project with an aim to producing LIBs on a 100 MW scale. V K Saraswat, member, NITI Aayog said: “This collaboration between Pure EV and CECRI will lead to important outcomes on areas like battery thermal management system (BTMS) and safety which are critical to for mass scale commercialisation of these cells. NITI Aayog strongly encourages such partnerships which can lead to a more flexible supply chain for the evolution for an important industry like electric vehicles.”
To reduce the dependency on imports of battery components, India needs to achieve a similar level of performance at the battery pack level, apart from just manufacture the battery cells. Under this MoU, Pure EV 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 commercialisation.
“Our extensive R&D work in the battery thermal management system gives us unique insights into the battery performance and lifecycle enhancement. We will work closely with CECRI team in enabling them to realise the 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 commercialisation,” said Rohit Vadera, CEO, Pure EV.
