Current Affairs Brain Booster for UPSC & State PCS Examination

Topic: National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell Battery Storage

Why in News?

• The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister, has approved the proposal of Department of Heavy Industry for implementation of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme 'National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage’ for achieving manufacturing capacity of Fifty (50) Giga Watt Hour (GWh) of ACC and 5 GWh of "Niche" ACC with an outlay of Rs.18,100 crore.

Key Highlights

• ‹The scheme is among the PLI schemes worth Rs. 1.97 trillion announced by the government last year for 13 sectors.
• The goal is to create global manufacturing champions in the country and attract firms exploring a China-plus-one strategy for production.
• The plan is to set up 50 giga watt hour (GWh) manufacturing capacity for advance chemistry cell batteries by attracting investments totaling Rs. 45,000 crore.
• One GWh (1,000-megawatt hour) of battery capacity is sufficient to power 1 million homes for an hour and around 30,000 electric cars.

What are ACCs?

• ‹ACCs are the new generation of advanced storage technologies that can store electric energy either as electrochemical or as chemical energy and convert it back to electric energy as and when required.
• The consumer electronics, electric vehicles, advanced electricity grids, solar rooftop etc. which are major battery consuming sectors are expected to achieve robust growth in the coming years.
• Globally, manufacturers are investing in these new generation technologies at commercial scale to fill the expected boom in battery demand through 2030.
• It is expected that the dominant battery technologies will control some of the world's largest growth sectors.

Significance

• ‹All the demand of the ACCs is currently being met through imports in India. The National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage will reduce import dependence.
• It will also support the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
• The scheme will also facilitate demand creation for battery storage in India.
• ‹The manufacturing of ACCs will facilitate demand for Electric Vehicles (EVs), which are proven to be significantly less polluting.
• As India pursues an ambitious renewable energy agenda, the ACC program will be a key contributing factor to reduce India's Green House Gas (GHG) emissions which will be in line with India's commitment to combat climate change.

About PLI Scheme

• ‹The government has introduced the production-linked incentive scheme (PLI) in April 2020 for large-scale electronics manufacturing in India.
• In the Union Budget 2021-22, the Finance Minister announced an outlay of INR 1.97 Lakh Crores for the PLI Schemes for 13 key sectors. The PLI scheme is designed with four objectives:

1. Target specific product areas;
2. Introduce non-tariff measures in order to compete more effectively with cheap imports;
3. Blend domestic and export sales to make manufacturing competitive and sustainable; and
4. Promote manufacturing at home while encouraging investment from within and outside India.