About the Conference:
The 6th annual Energy Storage India Conference and Exhibition on Energy Storage, EV and Microgrids was conducted from 9th-11th January 2019 in Delhi. It was organized by the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA), an industry organization that is actively driving energy storage developments in India. The event observed participation from policy makers and government bodies including Ministry of Power, NITI Aayog, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) as well as several state and central agencies; Industry participants from not only energy storage but from allied sectors like solar and wind technologies, and the academia as well. Over 1000 delegates from India and other parts of the world attended the event
Insights on bromine-based flow batteries:
Given that flow batteries in general and brominated flow batteries in particular as a technology is very nascent in India, there was limited focus on it during the conference. The key inputs gathered were as below
- Most of the research projects in Battery Systems are aimed at EVs and small-scale application. Large scale grid applications will require alternative technologies like Flow Batteries.
- Flow Batteries (Vanadium redox, Zn/Br) along with Zn Battery Systems (Zn/Air, Zn/Mn, Zn/Ni, Zn/C) and Molten Salt Battery are among the actively pursued technologies for grid applications
- Flow batteries have considerably longer life compared to other chemistries due to relative cycle time
- While Zinc Bromine is the most commonly known bromine-based battery solution, Hydrogen bromide and Polysulphide Bromine are also being explored
- Flow batteries are also superior from an end-of-life perspective
- The Levelized Cost of storage for Flow Batteries is lower than Li-ion technologies for grid scale applications.
- Redox Flow Batteries have advantages over Li-ion technologies for renewable integration to grid as they provide higher capacity and longer discharge times
- The chairman of IESA was confident about the potential of Bromine-based flow batteries, and has proposed an MoU between BSEF and IESA to facilitate information exchange about global developments
Conclusion:
Energy storage, though still very nascent in India, is catching the fancy of the nation due to its immense potential of addressing India’s energy needs in a sustainable manner. The conference helped connect with stakeholders in the Indian energy storage space and helped gain a first-hand understanding of their perceptions about the ecosystem’s future. The network built through the conference will help BSEF keep track of how things evolve in India, and contribute to the narrative associated with bromine-based flow batteries as well.
