Ilaria Rosella Pagliaro Made from abundant and more sustainable materials, sodium batteries represent an opportunity for India to reduce its dependence on imports, ensuring energy security and more economical and efficient management of storage.
©KPIT
A new study now shows that sodium batteries, comprising more sustainable and abundant materials than lithium, could lie at the heart of India’s efforts to cut its imports and transition to a greener future.
Sodium batteries: a game-changer for india’s energy needs
SIBs can change the game in the world of energy, especially when it comes to Indian scenarios, explained a recent study published under the UK-India ASPIRE program. Backed by the FCDO of the UK in cooperation with India’s Ministry of Power and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, this initiative comes forth to present SIBs as greener alternatives to LIBs. In utilizing abundant resources such as sodium chloride-sodium chloride, or common table salt-iron, and manganese, these batteries could reduce environmental impacts and afford India a degree of energy independence previously unimaginable.
India is already the world’s third-biggest producer of sodium chloride, accounting for roughly 10% of worldwide salt production as of 2021. It has sizeable reserves of phosphates and sulfur, which together with salt make up most of the required raw materials in a sodium battery. Notably different from lithium-ion batteries requiring certain minerals-in many cases cobalt mined under questionable circumstances-is that the components for SIBs are relatively inexpensive and accessible. This makes them a perfect fit in order to meet India’s estimated energy storage requirement of 41.7 GW/208 GWh by 2030, according to the Central Electricity Authority.
Safer, Cheaper, and More Efficient
Sodium batteries promise much more on technical and economic advantages besides sustainability. Their longer life, competitive price, and increased safety make them perfect for large-scale applications like supporting the power grid. The key benefits include:
- Reducing congestion in transmission lines;
- Smoothening of renewable generation;
- Satisfying peak demand with ample resources;
- Providing the best energy arbitrage to purchase and sell energy at various prices.
One other important advantage, they are also compatible with lithium battery production lines. Shifting to the production of sodium batteries would require very little change, therefore ensuring quicker and cheaper transition.
From an economic perspective, the outlook of SIBs is promising, as by 2030 their production cost will be 15–20 percent lower than the lithium batteries, thus making them even more viable for the future.
Green policies and international collaboration
According to the study, several strategic policy measures have been underlined to realize the full potential of sodium batteries:
- Incorporating SIBs in tenders for round-the-clock renewable energy;
- Introduction of incentives for advanced cell manufacturing;
- Making energy storage mandatory in renewable energy procurement contracts;
- Financial grants to bridge the economic viability gap in storage projects.
Necessary addition: The development of these batteries will also be accelerated as India and the UK coordinate for the joint sharing of experience, commercial partnerships, and joint research and large-scale production. The UK-based AMTE Power and LiNa Energy, along with Indian companies like Indi Energy, KPIT Technologies, and Sodion Energy, have already started pioneering these sodium-based innovations.
Source: KPIT
