Amara Raja’s plans to make Li-ion cells optimized for local driving conditions
A detailed news report giving an excellent idea of how a large, professional outfit is planning out its Li-ion cell making strategy.
One highlight is their investment in setting up a research division 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 (I presume that would mean both pack makers & EV OEMs).
This is perhaps where the battery upstream segment could be quite different from the solar power upstream segment – even though they share some similarities.
I don’t remember solar cell makers trying to get feedback from developers on what types of cells they want – it has been mostly a supplier driven design economy in solar power. (Some notable exceptions have been in rooftop solar – especially companies making solar tiles – where customer feedback had shaped solar panel design to a certain extent)
That could be because solar power, at the end of the day, delivers a commodity – electricity. Batteries are finally part of a consumer product (scooters, cars, trucks). This 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 alone could make the battery & EV ecosystem run on vastly different dynamics compared to those of solar power.
One in which the customer could be as important as technology in driving product design – 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯.
Amara Raja’s emphasis on customer feedback could represent this different dynamic.
Source: DigiTimes – https://lnkd.in/dbPZd88a
Niranjan C – Amara Raja Energy & Mobility Ltd
See my LinkedIn post on this topic
