Future of energy and mobility is Gas and Lithium-ion, say Experts
Posted on: 25/Oct/2019 11:51:30 AM
With the objective of bringing India’s energy sector and stakeholders under one roof to deliberate on affordable, reliable, sustainable modern energy and for gearing up with infrastructure conducive to a futuristic ecosystem, Confederation of Indian Industry - CII Southern Region recently organized the 4th edition of ‘Energizing South - `India@75: Forging Ahead: Commercially Smart, Sustainable & Secured Power` at Taj Coromandel, Chennai.
Among many interesting sessions on the topic, two thought-provoking sessions relevant to the energy associated with natural gas power projects while moving away from fossil fuel-based energy generation and futuristic mobility with the advent of new-gen electric vehicles were held.
Mr. V R Mahadevan, Immediate Past Chairman, CII-Chennai zone & Joint Managing Director, BGR Energy Systems Ltd. and Dr. Jitendra K. Das, founder Dean of IIM Lucknow (Noida Campus) and earlier Professor with IIM Ahmedabad & Kozhikode, currently Director, FORE School of Management, Delhi chaired the two impactful sessions respectively.
Mr. Mahadevan briefed upon the major trends in the Indian O&G sector and use of renewable energy, its sustainability, natural gas power, technological developments. His co-panelist, Mr. Biswas M K, Zonal Chief General Manager, GAIL India Limited spoke about the developments on natural gas which is a benign and less pollutant fuel when compared to other fuel and how gas can be a major growth factor of the country’s economy. He said, while currently 6.5 % of gas is being consumed in India the set target is to reach 15% by 2030.
Mr. R A Kulkarni, GM-Marketing, Indian oil Corporation, dealt with capacity building of natural gas at various parts of the country, storage challenges of liquefying the gas at cryogenic tanks and investments by various corporate bodies like Dabhol, Adani and others.
Dr. Jitendra Das, Director, FORE School of Management Delhi and Chair of the session, stated in his opening remarks how the electric vehicles are expected to grow at an exponential rate with increasing consumer awareness level and Government initiatives. He pointed out further “In a price-sensitive market like India, where cheap energy is paramount, the affordability and viability of charging the Electronic Vehicle is something consumers will assess but it is soon going to be a reality with breakthrough technologies like generating power from air and mini electricity-generating devices like the “Bloom Box” which could replace expensive powerhouses and transmission lines”.
Mr Amit Kekare, Head of Future Grids Business Segment, Siemens Limited, spoke at length about the various capabilities being developed at Siemens in this field some of which are already offering solutions to many of the challenges related to a Battery Operated Vehicle or BEV in all aspects of the transportation-eco-system starting from passenger vehicles to commercial vehicles and even aircrcrafts. “India can be ahead of the world in this revolution by adopting the EV faster in compared to the rest of the world”, he said.
Dr. Kuldeep Singh, Scientist at CECRI, spoke about the high-quality advanced lithium-ion battery which is extremely cost-effective and can be recycled which takes the stress of the consumer as far as recycling battery is concerned.
Dr. C. Sharmeela, Professor at the Dept. of EEE, Anna University, shared how the 35 Crore INR grant on implementing the use of EVs in the campus is going to make the university campus free of two-wheelers and offer cost-effective mobility to all.
Mr. P Gopi, Founder, Carryall Car Private Limited, raised pertinent questions like why EVs offering more than 100 KM range are currently not available in the market whereas the advanced EVs are ready to offer more than 500 km range already exists. He mentioned that some of the cartels and lobbies may be trying to delay the EV revolution but ultimately EV is going to dominate the automobile industry no matter what.
Without revealing much Mr. Gopi also claimed that soon his company will disrupt the entire industry by introducing self-charging vehicles that will not require any battery or external source of energy.
Important issues including the smooth transition from the existing supply chain setup to electric mobility transformation to be used in the near future were addressed by the panelists. Citing the mushrooming PCO booths of the 80s, Dr. Das said, “maybe we would soon see charging stations for EV coming up across the nation”.
Dignitaries of various Energy & Power, Renewable Energy, Equipment Supply, Technology & Solution, Public Services, National & Regional Regulatory Bodies, State & Central Government Agencies, Financial Institutions, Industries, and International Energy Bodies, MSMEs attended the conference in Chennai.
