ISRO scientists developed low cost lithium ion batteries.

[Juggernautjatt]

Lalit Mohan
Tribune News Service
Dharamsala, May 6
Himachal would get 1,500 km new national highways worth Rs 15,000 crores this financial year. Union Minister for Surface Transport Nitin Gadkari said this while addressing a press conference here today.

Gadkari, on a private visit to Dharamsala, was accompanied by state Transport Minister GS Bali and former BJP minister Kishan Kapoor.

The minister said he had already approved 1,368 km new national highways for Himachal on the recommendations of the party MPs and the state government.

Announcing other sops for Himachal, the minister said that Shimla bypass project worth Rs 1,500 crores has been sanctioned by the Union Ministry for Surface Transport. The foundation stone for the project would be laid this month and the work is likely to be started by the month of June.

He also said five railway over bridges (ROBs) worth Rs 500 crores all of which would come up in Kangra have been sanctioned. The minister promised to sanction another ROB in Nagrota Bagwan area of Kangra on the request of GS Bali. The union minister, however, said though sanctioned by the union ministry the projects can be expedited only if the state government cooperates in acquisition of land for the projects.

He also said that the studies were going on four rivers in Himachal Pradesh to develop water transport services. The possibility of landing sea planes in lakes of Himachal would also be studied, Gadkari said.

Gadkari said that present NDA had laid stress on increasing the National
Highways across the country. Presently, the total length of the National

Highways in the country was 90,000 km. The National Highways were carrying 40 per cent of the total traffic in the country. The present government had fixed a target of increasing the length of the National Highways in the country to 2 lakh kms.

Gadkari said the speed of construction of the National Highways in the country earlier was just about two km per day. At present, it was 20 km per day. “I wanted to take it to 30 km per day. However, the target is unlikely to be achieved due to problems in acquisition of land”, he said.

Gadkari said he would request the Himachal government to explore the options of installing electric cable cars in the state. The Union Ministry for Surface Transport has sources technology from Germany and other European countries for the purpose. The union government can also help Himachal in getting loans at rates as low as 2.5 per cent for bringing up the ropeways in the state, he said.

The minister also said that the union government was concerned about the rising pollution levels in the country and by 2020 it would adopt the Euro-6 level emissions levels for vehicles running the country.

The minister also said that keeping in view the problems of diesel taxi operators of Delhi the union government would request the Supreme Court to give them time for switch over.

“I have asked my officials to look for technologies to convert diesel taxis to those running on CNG so that the operators who had taken loan for purchasing the vehicles are not left in lurch”, Gadkari said.

The minister also said to promote electric vehicles in the country ISRO scientists were asked to develop low cost lithium ion batteries. The scientists have developed lithium ion batteries at the cost of Rs 6 lakh that is about 10 times lower than the cost of such batteries in European countries.

The batteries are still being tested, he said. He said Rs 5,000 crores had been kept for plantation around the highways.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/himachal/1-500-km-new-nhs-this-year-gadkari/233021.html

 

[Juggernautjatt]

Request made by Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways to ISRO scientists in 2015.


In a bid to tap the Indian Space Research Organisation’s famed frugal engineering skills, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari has entrusted the space agency with a rather unusual mandate — develop the prototype of a battery than can be retro-fitted into old diesel vehicles for delivering motive power.

Gadkari, who has already had two meetings with scientists from ISRO on the issue, told The Sunday Express, “I have asked ISRO to develop lithium-ion batteries which can be used in 10-year old diesel cars. The ticket size will be cut in half and the issue of pollution will also be addressed.”

ISRO’s recent Mars mission had a price tag of about $74 million, a fraction of the $671-million cost of NASA’s latest Mars programme. Last June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that India spent less to reach Mars than Hollywood producers spent on the movie “Gravity”.

Gadkari’s request to the ISRO comes at a time when most cities in India find a place in the list of the most polluted urban habitations in the world. Vehicular pollution in Delhi has reached record levels, with respirable suspended particulate matter at 316 micrograms per cubic metre pegged at almost 16 times of what is normal, which prompted the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to ban 10-year old diesel vehicles from plying in the national capital. The tribunal, however, later put a stay on the order after the Delhi government said it will take time to implement it.

The Delhi government has said it will agree to the phase-out if the Central government amends the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR, 1989) and fixes the life time of both private as well as commercial vehicles. The Centre, on the other hand, has filed an application against phasing out vehicles more than 10 years old, arguing that the number of old diesel vehicles in Delhi is small and banning them will have a negligible impact on air quality. It even submitted that emissions from the transport sector are not major.

While the impasse is yet to be resolved, the tribunal has directed Ministry of Road Transport & Highways to submit its views on capping the total number of vehicles, scrapping old vehicles, car pooling, and incentives to those who want to dispose their old vehicles. The NGT has also asked the Central Pollution Control Board to file additional data in support of its report on pollution in the NCR.

ISRO, known for its innovation and frugal engineering, could well come up with an answer to India’s pollution woes, feels Gadkari. “It cannot be implemented immediately. The development (of the battery) will take some time. But it will help resolve the problem,” he said.

Technically, almost any vehicle — petrol driven or ones with diesel engines — can be converted to electric. There are numerous options for the battery pack, which provides a source of electrical power, with the most commonly available and affordable batteries being the lead-acid flooded type. Then there are the AGM (Absorption Glass Mat) sealed maintenance free batteries that are a little more powerful and expensive. Batteries such as the Li-ion ones, while being lighter and long lasting, are more expensive.

The conversion requires the mounting of a charger, which restores energy to the batteries, a power controller that regulates the flow of energy between the battery and the electric motor, controlled by an electronic throttle. One or more electric motors and their mechanical attachment to the driveline can also to be added.

Globally, there are several instances of such conversions. Epic Car Conversions, a Toronto-based design firm, engineers electric drive systems used for converting gasoline cars into 100 per cent electric vehicles. Models include the 1969-1976 Porsche 914, one of the more successful sports car conversions that boasts of better performance in range, acceleration and top speed than most other vehicles.

A number of manufacturers of conversion kits have made a kit specific to the 914. A 1983 Mitsubishi Starion is reported to have been converted to all-electric in 2009 by Carmel Morris and Nathan Bolton in Australia with a battery pack consisting of 45×3.2 volt nominal lithium ion batteries.

In India, Mumbai-based firm EVI claims to have developed an easy installation and reliable line of powertrains ranging from 8kw up to 90kw nominal power, suitable for both automotive or marine applications. The EVI conversion combines motors with an integrated inverter, control electronics and software, with no separate large, heavy and costly inverter needed, according to the company.

http://indianexpress.com/article/in...develop-a-battery-to-check-vehicle-pollution/

 

[Nimitam]

15,000 crores for 1,500 km of Highway.

That is 10 Crores per Kilometre of Highway.

Which is 1.5 Million $ per Kilometre of Highway in India.

In the US the cost of building an highway per kilometre is 0.155 million $

Indian highways are literally paved with gold It is 10 times more expensive to build roads in India.

 

[chanikya]

15,000 crores for 1,500 km of Highway.

That is 10 Crores per Kilometre of Highway.

Which is 1.5 Million $ per Kilometre of Highway in India.

In the US the cost of building an highway per kilometre is 0.155 million $

Indian highways are literally paved with gold It is 10 times more expensive to build roads in India.

Here they are talking about laying new roads and new infra including mini bridges and calculating of these 10c per km is normal, can u elaborate the cost you opted for US roads...

 

[cirr]

Does India produce a single gram of lithium?

From spodumene or brine.

As for lithium-ion battery, India makes less than1% of what China does.

 

[nair]

Does India produce a single gram of lithium?

From spodumene or brine.

As for lithium-ion battery, India makes less than1% of what China does.

So??? Wat should india do???

 

[Nilgiri]

So??? Wat should india do???

Best to ignore the troll from a country where lay offs are happening in the millions of people right now.

Have a look at this article:

http://www.business-standard.com/ar...y-unit-in-india-elon-musk-115102700296_1.html

The capacity will come as Indian industry evolves and demand increases.

 

[Nimitam]

Here they are talking about laying new roads and new infra including mini bridges and calculating of these 10c per km is normal, can u elaborate the cost you opted for US roads...

The data about per km road cost in the US is given in google. I am unable to post links.

BTW you are wrong that the cost of 10 Cr is for laying new roads and new infra. It includes the cost of BUYING LAND which is the most expensive part of the deal.

 

[topgun047]

15,000 crores for 1,500 km of Highway.

That is 10 Crores per Kilometre of Highway.

Which is 1.5 Million $ per Kilometre of Highway in India.

In the US the cost of building an highway per kilometre is 0.155 million $

Indian highways are literally paved with gold It is 10 times more expensive to build roads in India.

Building roads in mountainous terrain is different from building them in plains genius.

 

[Rajeev Gupta]

15,000 crores for 1,500 km of Highway.

That is 10 Crores per Kilometre of Highway.

Which is 1.5 Million $ per Kilometre of Highway in India.

In the US the cost of building an highway per kilometre is 0.155 million $

Indian highways are literally paved with gold It is 10 times more expensive to build roads in India.

That is why

 

[Nimitam]

Building roads in mountainous terrain is different from building them in plains genius.

LOL.... you mean US does not have hilly regions ?

Now here is a fun fact,

....the cost of building one km of road in the hilly regions of Tajikistan was 1.2 Million $. Still cheaper than India. The AVERAGE cost of constructing road in India is higher than that.

Now what percentage of highways in India pass through hilly terrain and Mountains ?

 

[cirr]

So??? Wat should india do???

Do what China has done

Top Lithium Producers

Here's a look at the world's top lithium producers.

Teresa Matich • May 5, 2016

For a long time, most of the world’s lithium was produced by an oligopoly of producers often referred to as the “Big 3.” Prior to being acquired by Albemarle (NYSE:ALB),Rockwood Lithium, part of Rockwood Holdings was on that list. The other members of the club were Chile’s Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) and FMC (NYSE:FMC), which operates in Argentina.

However, the list of the world’s top lithium producers has changed in recent years. Those companies still produce the majority of the world’s lithium, but China continues to take a huge chunk out as well. China was the fourth-largest lithium-producing country last year in terms of mined production, according to the US Geological Survey, following Australia, Chile and Argentina.

More importantly, however, Australia does not currently produce lithium chemicals, and China is producing more and more of them.

Even though Australia narrowly beat out Chile last year in terms of mined production, its largest mine, the Greenbushes lithium project, is majority controlled by China’s Tianqi Group. Tianqi owns a 51-percent interest in Talison Lithium, which runs the mine, while Albemarle now owns a 49-percent stake in the company via its acquisition of Rockwood.

Certainly, securing a steady supply of lithium is becoming mroe and more important for end users. According to Bloomberg, Sichuan Tianqi Lithium Industries (SZSE:002466) and Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium (SZSE:002460) have seen their stocks nearly double in the past year. At the same time, China based electric car and bus maker BYD is under pressure to “get hold of lithium resources,” to bring down battery costs.

Lithium expert Joe Lowry has written extensively about China’s rising share of the lithium market. The graphic below, put out in 2015 using results from 2014, outlines how the global lithium space has changed over the past decade or so:


Source: Global Lithium LLC

The market share for the “Big 3” lithium producers has dropped from about 85 percent to 53 percent, while China now has about 40 percent of the world’s market share. Lowry has also created a more detailed breakdown of the global lithium market share, with Tianqi, Ganfeng and other sources of Chinese production clearly being significant:


Source: Global Lithium LLC

In other words, lithium investors need to be keeping an eye on lithium producers China, as well as on the New York-listed chemical companies among the ranks of lithium producers. Here’s a look at some of the world’s largest lithium producers.

Albemarle
When Albemarle closed its acquisition of Rockwood Holdings and Rockwood Lithium in early 2015, it became the heavyweight in the lithium space. The company’s net sales for lithium were approximately $508.8 million for 2015, well above what was reported by SQM and FMC. Lowry calls Albemarle the lithium superpower.

The lithium producer owns lithium brine operations in the US and Chile, and, as mentioned above, it owns a 49-percent stake in the massive hard-rock Greenbushes mine Australia. Albemarle said this September that it has plans to up its battery-grade lithium production with the addition of a new plant using feed from Greenbushes. It is unclear just how much production would be added, and the company has not yet decided where the plant will be built.

On February 1 2016, Albemarle was granted a long-awaited permit to increase its lithium brine extraction rate at its operations in Chile. The lithium producer also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Chilean government to define a partnership for the increased lithium quota. However, SQM has stated that it will seek to challenge the granting of this permit.

The company also produces bromine and other performance chemicals, and has refining solutions and Chemetall surface treatment business segments as well. Lithium made up approximately 15 percent of Albemarle’s core business revenues in 2014.

SQM
Revenues from lithium and derivatives for 2015 came in at US$223 million for SQM, an increase of 7.8 percent compared to 2014. The company stated that its lithium business accounted for approximately 21 percent of its gross profit margin for the year.

The lithium producer faced some challenges in 2015. It spent plenty of time butting heads with Chile’s Corfoover its leases in the Salar de Atacama, where the company’s brine operations are located. Earlier in 2015, the company got some unwanted attention as part of a broader probe into into bribery and tax evasion in Chile, leading the company’s CEO to resign and to three directors representing Potash Corp of Saskatchewan (TSX:POT) leaving the company as well.

On March 28 2016, SQM announced a joint venture with Lithium Americas (TSX:WLC) to develop the Cauchari-Olaroz lithium project in Jujuy, Argentina, marking SQM’s first investment in lithium production outside of Chile.

Beyond its lithium business, SQM is also a significant potash producer and the world’s largest producer of iodine.

FMC
FMC, which operates its lithium business in the Salar del Hombre Muerto in Argentina, reported lithium segment revenues of $238 million for 2015, seven percent lower than in 2014. Full year earnings from FMC’s lithium business came in at $23 million, $4.2 million lower than in 2014.

The lithium producer reported that higher prices for lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate, as well as cost savings projects, helped to offset inflation and currency impacts in Argentina for 2015.

FMC, like most others following the lithium sector, sees strong lithium demand with prices continuing to rise. However, though the lithium producer plans to increase its lithium hydroxide throughput by another 10 percent in 2015, Lowry noted in an overview of the company’s annual report that the company will still be producing less than they were a few years ago.

In an era where hydroxide is in a global period of undersupply and prices are triple last year in some markets –it would be wonderful if FMC could state they had record production,” he stated, “but unfortunately they do not and prefer to highlight incremental year over year increases.”

Sichuan Tianqi Lithium
Lithium producer Tianqi Lithium is a subsidiary of Chengdu Tianqi Group, headquartered in Chengdu, China. The company states that it has been focused on advancing its entire lithium processing chain in regards to securing a large share of the lithium battery market. It is the world’s largest hard-rock-based lithium producer.

Tianqi beat out Rockwood Holdings to take control of Talison Lithium, which owns the Greenbushes mine in Australia, in 2012. However, it subsequently sold a 49-percent interest in the company to Rockwood, which is now owned by Albemarle.

Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium
Ganfeng Lithium is another important Chinese lithium producer that investors should be keeping an eye on. Headquartered in Xinyu, China, the company is China’s second-largest lithium producer.

Like Tianqi, Ganfeng is also buying up interests in lithium companies outside of China. It owns a 14.7-percent stake in junior lithium company International Lithium (TSXV:ILC), and signed an MOU for an offtake agreement with Australia’s Reed Industrial Minerals, owned by Neometals (ASX:NMT) and Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN), in July 2015.

Furthermore, Lowry has said that Chinese lithium producers are becoming much more significant as suppliers to the global lithium ion-battery market. China now produces more cathode for lithium-ion batteries than Japan and Korea combined.

New lithium producers?
Aside from the world’s top lithium producers, a number of other lithium companies are getting into production as well.

Orocobre (TSX:ORL,ASX:ORE) continues to ramp up lithium carnobate production at its Olaroz lithium facility in Argentina. The company put out 2,332 tonnes of the material in Q1 2016, in line with its 2,400 tonne target for the quarter. Orocobre is targeting 3,000 tonnes of production for Q2.

Meanwhile, Galaxy Resources (ASX:GXY) reported last month that it’s partner, General Mining (ASX:GMM), had recommenced mining operations at Galaxy’s hard-rock lithium mine in Western Australia. The project is fully funded through an initial optimization phase via offtake payments, and first delivery of concentrates to the company’s Chinese customers is expected to take place in July or August.

Beyond that, there are plenty of lithium juniors looking to develop projects and become lithium producers as well. Two have signed conditional supply agreements with Tesla Motors’ (NASDAQ:TSLA) (Bacanora Minerals (TSXV:BCN,LSE:BCN)/Rare Earth Minerals (LSE:REM), and Pure Energy Minerals (TSXV:PE)), while many more are converging on the prolific Clayton Valley.

However, analysts and market watchers have cautioned that only those who can reach low costs of production will be able to compete with the world’s current top lithium producers.

What should investors be watching?
Tesla’s supply chain has gotten plenty of focus from the press, but it’s worth remembering that, at least for now, the cathode for Tesla’s batteries is made in Japan. Companies in the country make nickel-cobalt-aluminum (NCA) cathodes for Panasonic (TSE:6752), the maker of battery cells for Tesla.

As a final note, while Tesla is certainly a major demand driver for the lithium space, Lowry believes that Tesla tends to obscure demand growth in China.

Certainly, China is not only a heavyweight in terms of lithium producers, but is also big for demand as well. The country has had significant growth in cathode going to all segments of the battery market, including consumer electronics, grid storage and transportation applications such as e-bikes and buses.

The weight of global lithium market has since further shifted to China now that the country is by far the largest lithium chemicals, lithium-ion batteries and new-energy vehicles producer in the world.

 

[cirr]

Best to ignore the troll from a country where lay offs are happening in the millions of people right now.

Have a look at this article:

http://www.business-standard.com/ar...y-unit-in-india-elon-musk-115102700296_1.html

The capacity will come as Indian industry evolves and demand increases.

You guys have got a long long long way to go.

So stop cheap talk and get to work

 

[Globaltracker81]

You guys have got a long long long way to go.

So stop cheap talk and get to work

I believe for anyone to produce lithium we need mining deposits which in India is negligible compared to China. So please cool down we can't produce what we don't have any means other than buying from third party. So chill

 

[Echo_419]

You guys have got a long long long way to go.

So stop cheap talk and get to work

For a guy who has 11k posts on a Defense forum, you are quite an inspiration to work hard & talk less