Charged up

Battery makers are moving beyond lithium to power India's clean energy ambitions

- ROHINI KRISHNAMURTHY

INDUSTRIALIST MUKESH Ambani, chairperson and managing director of Reliance Industries Ltd, ended 2021 on a high note by acquiring UK-based battery technology firm Faradion Limited for £100 million (approximately ₹1,001 crore). His refining-to-retail conglomerate has placed its bets Faradion's sodium-ion batteries to realise its goal of setting up four gigafactories on in the country to manufacture solar panels, electric batteries and hydrogen fuel cells. More than a business strategy, the deal indicates a changing trend in India's battery technology ecosystem.

The battery technology industry has seen a rapid growth in recent years as countries increasingly switch to clean-powered electric mobility. Currently across the world, four types of batteries are in use: lead acid, lithium-ion (including variants), nickel-metal hydride and vanadium ion batteries. While lead acid and lithium-ion batteries are the only two currently available in the Indian market, several other technologies like vanadium redox, metal-air, metal-ion and liquid metal batteries are also being explored for application across sectors.

Parveen Kumar, senior programme manager, Electric Mobility at the World Resources Institute, a global research non-profit, tells Down To Earth (DTE) that four factors determine whether a new battery technology disrupts the market-energy density (amount of charge in a unit area), cost, safety (health impacts, flammability and explosiveness) and sustainability (including global availability).