Exide Industries - the country's (India's) largest lead acid battery maker - is exploring alternative technology for batteries amid a government push for electric vehicles. Although Exide is investing in upgrading existing plants producing lead acid batteries, the company is simultaneously in discussion with technology partners and OEMs to manufacture and distribute lithium ion batteries for electric vehicles. "We are in a very disruptive stage as far as the battery industry is concerned. There is so much talk about electric vehicles. While we do not see lead acid technology vanishing in the next 10 years, its share could reduce in the automotive sector," said G. Chatterjee, managing directo

Tata Motors Ltd is developing a battery-powered version of the Nano car model in an attempt to revive sales, according to people with knowledge of the plan. The Indian owner of Jaguar Land Rover is also considering a battery-powered version of the Tiago hatchback, the people said, asking not to be identified as the proposals are not public. Other initiatives being discussed include making energy-storage devices and creating charging stations, the people said. The plans aren’t final and could change, they said. Increasing bets on electric vehicles could give the Mumbai-based company a leg-up in a market where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pushing for an initiative under which most vehicle

SolarReserve won environmental approval from the Chilean government to build a 390 MW solar thermal power station with 5,100 MWh of energy storage. This important milestone marks SolarReserve’s third approval of a solar thermal project that will provide Chile with a non-intermittent, 24-hour supply of energy – at a price competitive with fossil fuel based generation. Using SolarReserve’s proprietary solar thermal energy storage technology, the Likana Solar Energy Project in the Antofagasta region of Chile, will be comprised of three 130 MW solar thermal towers, each with 13 hours of full load energy storage. With 5.1 GWh of total energy storage capacity, the facility will deliver 390 MW o

At least two global technology leaders could set up Gigafactories to manufacture lithium-ion cells in India in the next couple of years, according to the head of the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA). This focus is being driven by opportunities in both stationary and electric vehicle (EV) applications in India, particularly with the government goal of making all vehicles electric by 2030. As is well known, the Indian government has already extended a red carpet welcome to US-based storage, solar and EV specialist Tesla to set up a Gigafactory in India, but there are similar discussions ongoing with at least two other major manufacturers with Gigawatt-scale manufacturing already installed

While the global energy storage industry has continued its pace of rapid growth during the past year, well-established markets remain highly concentrated in specific regions of the world. In fact, Navigant Research expects the top five country markets to account for 56% of the new energy storage capacity forecast to be built in 2017. Over the coming years, this dynamic will change, as the industry is already seeing significant geographic diversification. Navigant Research’s latest Country Forecasts for Energy Storage reports explore the growth trends for energy storage at the utility-scale and distributed levels in 26 countries around the world. This article highlights the leading countries

IN THE QUARTER century since Volvo rolled my ruby-red 240 wagon off an assembly line, its creator has gone from a modest Swedish independent automaker to part of a massive American conglomerate to an arm of a Chinese automaker that’s pushing driverless cars and racing to go fully electric in the next two years. It’s been a funky journey for a funky automaker, but it’s no mere aberration or footnote. If you want to understand the car industry of the past 25 years—and maybe the next 25—study Volvo’s journey. For a niche player best known for shuttling liberals and hippies, Volvo has long played an outsized role in the evolution of the auto industry. It invented and made standard the three-poin

Here is some mid-week inspiration for you on what can be accomplished in just a business week! Even the most daunting world records are meant to be broken… eventually. For elite navigator Stan Honey and a crew of sailing all-stars, beating the prestigious monohull transatlantic sailing record was the ultimate accomplishment. And it was no easy feat. On July 22, 2016, the Comanche—a custom-built, 100-foot racing yacht—set sail from New York to the southern tip of England. Precisely five days, 14 hours, 21 minutes and 25 seconds later, the Comanche’s crew shattered the world record… by more than a day. Brave the high seas as we set sail on one of the most amazing and inspiring journeys ever to

Volvo just announced plans to phase out gas-only car production by 2019, at which time all new Volvos will either be fully electric or electric hybrids. The company also said that it would launch three new fully electric Volvos between 2019 and 2021, and two high performance electrics under the Polestar brand. All new hybrids will be a mix of petrol and diesel twin-engine plug-ins and 48 volt "mild hybrid" options “This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car,” said CEO Håkan Samuelsson. “Volvo Cars has stated that it plans to have sold a total of one million electrified cars by 2025. When we said it we meant it. This is how we are going to do it.” In May Volvo

Johnson Controls recently opened its second global corporate headquarters in Shanghai, China, supporting the enormous growth opportunities present in the country, as well as in other regions in Asia-Pacific. Already well-established in China, the company continues to accelerate its growth there through plant openings, key customer partnerships, joint ventures, and strategic agreements. The new facility has set “a new standard for green and smart buildings,” with a design that focuses on renewable energy, intelligent lighting, and building automation systems that are expected to reduce energy consumption by 44%, compared to local standards. Moreover, its gray water recycling programs and stor

Continued energy storage cost declines present a growing threat of disruption for utility business models, a new study from McKinsey & Co. finds. The study reports energy storage is already economical for many commercial customers at today’s prices and that with the paring back of incentives such as net metering in many states, combining solar power with energy storage is beginning to be attractive for some households. Continued cost declines are moving energy storage from niche applications, such as grid balancing, to broader uses such as replacing conventional power generators for reliability, providing power-quality services, and supporting renewables integration, according to McKinsey. r