Metals Tech

Indian power minister R.K. Singh has chaired a meeting with battery-based energy storage manufacturers calling on them to set up manufacturing units in India.

Singh’s urgency not only stemmed from the government’s push on electric vehicles (EVs) and its expected surge in the coming years, but also because future tenders will cover hybrid solar and wind projects to be coupled with energy storage. Indeed, both Andhra Pradesh and Kerala are already working on such hybrid projects.

Singh said the government would soon release a policy with a focus on ‘Make in India’.

He added: “Tenders for procuring e-vehicles have already been issued and we have started procuring the vehicles. This is going to increase.”

He also assured the battery manufacturers present that the government would take all possible measures to incentivise battery manufacturing in India. Meanwhile, in terms of the raw materials necessary for battery manufacturing, he said the government had already started discussions with resource rich countries such as Bolivia.

However, the industry representatives raised concerns over the high GST tax rates on batteries and asked for preference to be given to Indian made batteries in government procurement in order to promote domestic manufacturing.

The industry also said it was necessary to create Indian standards for batteries and to set up field testing facilities for both stationary and mobile sectors. India has previously detailed quality standards for solar products that also covered storage. The industry also said that a favourable economic environment was key to progressing battery cell manufacturing, while it was also important to create an enabling environment for battery recycling in India.

PV Tech’s sister site Energy-Storage.News has previously reported that the latest Indian national Budget saw a hike in customs duties for lithium-ion batteries from 10% to 20%, which is unhelpful to India’s overall energy storage industry unless there is enough domestic manufacturing to meet demand.

Singh has asked the Department of Space and ISRO to share relevant technologies with the Industry to help progress the storage sector.

Dr Rahul Walawalkar, president and MD of Customized Energy Solutions and an executive director of the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) has said previously that 2017 was the year when Indian industries started investing in setting up manufacturing capabilities for developing li-ion battery packs in India with IESA members such as Exicom, Delta and ACME leading the way.

He has also said: “By mid-2018, India will have over 1GWh of li-ion battery pack manufacturing capacity. We also anticipate that in 2018 at least two li-ion cell manufacturing plants with capacity of 1GWh or more will start construction in India with anticipated completion for early 2020, bringing India on the global map of ‘Gigafactories’.”

The Indian government will make all efforts to encourage battery manufacturing in India, the country’s Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy R K Singh said at a meeting with battery makers on Friday.

The minister called on the industry to establish battery manufacturing units in India as the government promoting e-vehicles will spur strong future demand. In addition, he said that the future bids will be for solar/wind hybrid projects coupled with storage, according to a press release.

Singh added that the government will soon present a policy in this respect and the focus will be on “Make in India.”

“Tenders for procuring e- vehicles have already been issued and we have started procuring the vehicles. This is going to increase,” the minister stated.

The industry raised the issue of high GST (goods and services tax) rates on batteries, said that Indian made batteries should be given preference in government procurement, and noted on the need for Indian standards for batteries and field testing facilities.

The minister also said that with respect to adequate raw materials supply for battery manufacturing, the government has started communication with resource rich countries such as Bolivia.

CATL is considering three countries – Germany, Poland, Hungary, which strongly support battery investments and are close to EV assembly facilities.

Poland was already chosen by LG Chem, while Hungary got the nod from Samsung SDI.

For CATL, it would be its first factory outside of China, but that’s the way to go as the European market is expanding. Among customers, BMW was mentioned.

There are no numbers, but Bloomberg suggests that CATL’s capacity in Europe will be bigger than Tesla’s Gigafactory.

“Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd. is close to picking one of three sites in the European Union for its first overseas plant, Chairman Zeng Yuqun said in an interview. The company is exploring Germany, Hungary and Poland for the plant, according to a person familiar with the plan who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t public.

“We see a big opportunity in Europe,” Zeng said on the sidelines of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Beijing. “Korean companies, using a low-price strategy to compete with us, haven’t made much technological progress in the past two years, while we have managed to grow fast and surpass them.”

The European factory wouldn’t be CATL’s only addition though. A new factory in Ningde, Fujian is planned to “quintuple its production capability and make it the world’s largest EV battery cell maker”.

 

It might seem obvious that in sunny Singapore, there’s an abundance of a natural resource to be tapped for our energy needs, and a more sustainable future.

So one might wonder: Why does the island currently draw only about 2 per cent of its electricity from solar energy?

Tapping the sun’s energy is more complex an issue than it might seem, beginning with at least two constraints that Singapore faces: Limited land, for solar energy generation requires large areas for photovoltaic panels to be laid; and intermittent sunshine, because of cloud movements and rain.

But a push is underway to overcome or at least mitigate these constraints, with the goal of one day having solar energy meet 15 per cent of peak electricity demand during the day.

Several projects and innovative programmes are in the works – ranging from an initiative since 2008 to install solar panels on Housing and Development Board rooftops, to floating solar ‘farms’ on our reservoirs.

Before the current solar power output of 140 megawatt-peak (MWp) can be bumped up to the eventual target, the plan is to reach 350 MWp by 2020. This will be about 5 per cent of Singapore’s projected peak electricity demand.

And the HDB has a role to play as the largest housing developer here. It has about 10,000 residential blocks, providing “ample” roof space.

“Aspirationally, we want to install solar panels in every block that we can,” HDB deputy director (Energy Research) Ng Bingrong told Channel NewsAsia’s two-part special, Powering The Future.

But retrofitting rooftops with a solar energy system can be a tall order, and can take up to 40 days on each block.

“We’ve to take into consideration the block configuration and how to place the panels, to maximise solar generation; and looking at the existing roof structure design, how to lay the structural support and the trunking of the wiring,” he said.

In 2014, the HDB and the Economic Development Board launched the SolarNova programme to accelerate the deployment of solar panels across government agencies. It will have an estimated capacity sufficient to power 88,000 four-room flats annually.

In housing estates, this electricity generated can be used to power the gamut of services needed, from water pumps to corridor lights to lifts.

Across the island, there are over 2,000 solar panel installations on commercial and residential buildings. That number is rising. But since solar energy generation is dependent on surface area, Singapore’s land constraints remain a challenge.

This is being done at Tengeh Reservoir in Tuas, home to the world’s largest floating solar-cell test bed. It measures 1.5 times the size of a football field.

Here, 10 different systems are being assessed, so that “we learn as much as possible before we go into a larger deployment”, said Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (Seris) deputy chief executive officer Thomas Reindl.

In principle, a floating solar farm is not that different from traditional ones on land. “You can put solar panels wherever they face the sun,” noted Dr Reindl. And in this case, the panels are placed on pontoons.

But Singapore must first test the techniques and economic feasibility of using this “interesting option” for enhancing its solar power capacity.

The EDB and national water agency PUB built the S$11-million test bed in 2016. And it generates one MWp of energy – enough to power 250 four-room flats for a year.

More importantly, the floating panels have performed 5 to 15 per cent better than Singapore’s rooftop installations.

PUB chief sustainability officer Tan Nguan Sen said: “This is mainly due to the cooler temperature of the reservoir environment.

Also, we have found no significant impact on water quality and biodiversity.

Based on these results, the PUB is exploring how to scale up the deployment of floating panels. For example, it is doing engineering and environmental studies at both Tengeh Reservoir and Upper Peirce Reservoir.

With 17 reservoirs dotted around the island, there is the potential to add “a few hundred” megawatts of power, reckoned Dr Reindl.

There is, however, another consideration: Many of the reservoirs are designated for water activities. Said Mr Tan: “We would then have to plan together how we can allocate space for the solar panels and the water activities.”

NOT JUST A FACADE

To install panels on more surface areas, Singapore is also turning to building facades. This requires special panels known as building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs), which can be placed on buildings in many ways.

“BIPVs can be structurally integrated into balconies. They can be used as a window facade, as cladding … and as a prefabricated system that can be easily plugged into the facade,” said Seris research fellow Veronika Shabunko.

Last year, a Seris team installed solar panels on the side of a building at the National University of Singapore to see how they would fare in different weather conditions.

It is important to do such tests also because the panels must comply with Singapore’s building codes. And apart from the regulators, BIPVs must meet the standards of another group: Architects.

Dr Shabunko explained: “The aesthetic of building-integrated photovoltaics is also very important because architects have to accept them. And engineers have to work with architects in order to integrate such systems into the building facades.”

So, for instance, BIPVs can be blue, golden, black, white or semi-transparent. “There are lots of newly developed BIPV modules that are flexible and can be placed on any curved surface,” she added.

NOT SUNNY ALL THE TIME

For all these efforts to mitigate land constraints, one fact will not change: Even in tropical Singapore, it is not always sunny. On average, the city state enjoys 5.5 hours of sunshine daily.

There are cloud movements. There is heavy rainfall up to five months in a year. And haze from forest fires in the region can reduce solar energy yield by up to a quarter.

All these cause an occurrence called solar intermittency and thus the energy produced would fluctuate. Hence, a team of researchers are developing solar storage technologies that will smooth out the fluctuations.

And they are doing it on Pulau Semakau.

“Semakau Island is not inhabited, and this allows us to test various kinds of technologies and different scenarios before we can deploy them in a more densely populated area,” said Renewable Energy Integration Demonstrator director Choo Fook Hoong.

The microgrid being tested integrates renewable energy sources with battery storage. Such a system can supply electricity to urban consumers or to remote communities, which means it could also be an affordable energy solution within the region.

Currently in its first phase, the project features over 4,500 square metres of solar panels, lithium batteries and a hydrogen refuelling station for electric cars.

It is also harnessing another element that Singapore benefits from even at night: Wind. Noted Professor Choo,

The combined effect (of wind and solar energy) is that you have electricity supply during the day and night.

When fully completed in five years’ time, the system will cover the size of eight to nine football fields.

EYES ON THE SKIES

On Pulau Ubin, another microgrid is already being put through its paces, benefiting some 30 businesses.

Before the Energy Market Authority implemented this project in 2013, diesel generators were the only source of fuel on the island, which is not on the national power grid.

And it was “quite difficult” to rely on the generators because if one malfunctioned, there had to be another on standby, said Ubin resident Koh Bee Choo, who runs a bicycle rental shop there.

“Now the solar-powered system is excellent. There’s no power cut, no problem at all,” said Ms Koh, who saves S$100 to S$200 a month from the switch.

While integrating such a solar grid into a small community may be straightforward, a more complex solution will be needed for the mainland.

As Dr Reindl noted, solar energy must be added to Singapore’s power grid without jeopardising its stability.

That is why a control system is also being tested to forecast solar intermittency across the country. It measures the sunlight intensity at any given solar installation site, and how well the system is converting sunlight into electricity.

Any deviation from the projected numbers should trigger an alert, and action can be taken to ensure an even power supply.

To increase predictive accuracy, more cameras are now being added to aid in the understanding of cloud movements.

“Our vision going forward is to use this real-time monitoring system and eventually make it into an autopilot,” said Dr Reindl.

IT’S ABOUT A SOLAR ECOSYSTEM

Even as all these technologies are being developed, the country’s size is still a factor limiting their application. So the Republic is looking to become a solar hub for the region – where cutting-edge ideas can originate and take flight.

Singapore will need an ecosystem of solar energy players. And so far, more than 50 companies, local and global, have set up base here, across the manufacturing, project development and financing segments.

Electrify.sg is one example. The local start-up is building a peer-to-peer energy trading platform ahead of the full liberalisation of the energy market later this year.

This platform will allow owners of solar panels to sell the surplus power produced in the daytime to other owners and consumers. If it takes off, this trading platform might be the first of its kind in the world.

Electrify.sg co-founder and CEO Julius Tan said: “We hope that we can encourage a livelier community of both consumers and producers. They can possibly discuss how best they can optimise their solar energy systems.”

Meanwhile, Norwegian manufacturer REC Solar has already won an international award for the performance and reliability of its TwinPeak 2 Series solar panels – whose research and development, design and launch were all done here.

The company has also been inspired by Singapore’s land scarcity to develop more flexible solar installations.

“We’re working with the Singapore government on movable solutions so we can deploy solar PVs on vacant land until it’s ready for development,” said CEO Steve O’Neil.

“It’s this kind of ecosystem where so many people are working together to bring clean energy to Singapore and to the world.”

Reducing the nation’s carbon footprint remains a big undertaking, but people like him and Mr Tan are optimistic that at least the future of solar energy here looks bright.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) Managing Director and CEO Y K Koo had in January this year said that the company will foray into electric vehicles (EV) segment in India next year, without divulging any further details.

“At the moment we are yet to finalise whether it will be the Ioniq EV sedan or the full electric version of SUV Kona, he had said.” Now, if media reports are to be believed, the 2019 Hyundai

Kona Electric will be the Hyundai’s first all-electric model for India, reported Zeenews.

Kona Electric concept was shown in India last month during 2018 Auto Expo while the car’s production form was unveiled this month at the Geneva Motor Show.

The car’s electric motor is paired to a 39.2 kW Lithium-ion Polymer battery pack. It can churn out 133 BHP of power and 395 Nm of peak torque. The battery can be charged fully in 6 hours which can deliver a driving range of 300 km. The battery can be charged up to 80 percent in less than an hour with a quick charger.

The car can sprint from 0-100kmph in 9.3 seconds with a top-speed on 167 kmph.

Hyundai plans to invest over $1 billion (around Rs 6,300 crore) in India in the next three years on new products, development of powertrain and setting up of a new office building.

HMIL has lined up nine products to be introduced between 2018 and 2020. Koo had earlier said that Hyundai will import its first EV as CKD (completely knocked down) units and assemble at the company’s Chennai plant.

With battery being an important component for success of EVs in India, Koo had said HMIL is keeping the option open of partnering with local firms for sourcing of electric vehicle battery, besides considering other alternatives like importing from China or South Korea.