Future of Energy is in Storage of Energy: Suresh Prabhu at ESI

ESI 2018 showcases new avenues, ideas, and advanced technologies in Energy Storage space to implement the awaited National Energy Storage mission.

Addressing the larger issues, challenges, emerging trends and a wide array of opportunities for Energy Storage, Micro-grids and Electric Vehicle solutions in India Energy Storage India (ESI) 2018 was started with a big bang. Shri Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce & Industry of India delivered a special welcome address emphasizing the need for Energy Storage for greener, cleaner and more stable grid in India.

Addressing ESI 2018, Honourable Minister of Commerce & Industry, Shri Suresh Prabhu said,

“Energy storage can change the dynamics of energy profile of the world and thus energy storage is a critical component in global energy strategy. We should be the leaders, we should invest in R&D.” He encouraged participants to work together globally for R&D considering local needs. He hoped that ESI 2018 will help in addressing various issues related to energy storage ecosystem.

 ESI 2018 is organized by India Energy Storage Alliance and is supported by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Ministry of science and technology, Government bodies including Invest India, Start-up India, Skill Council and other industry pioneers such as Fluence, EnerBlu and Delta Electronics. ESI 2018 showcases new avenues, ideas, and advanced technologies in Energy Storage space to implement the awaited National Energy Storage mission. This event opened new doors to accelerate Make in India, EV transformation and much-anticipated dream of electricity to all by developing the country as a global manufacturing hub for advanced energy storage technologies.

Speaking on the regulatory efforts and potential of Energy storage, R.P. Gupta, Additional Secretary (Energy), NITI Aayog said, “India has plenty of sun and wind so renewable energy presents a cost-effective unique opportunity to address the energy need of the country. Niti Ayog is in process of formulating India Energy Policy. Energy storage is going to have a major description in Energy Policy.”

Mr. RV Deshpande, Minister of Large and Medium Scale Industries and Infrastructure Development, Govt. of Karnataka (First state to release electric vehicle and energy storage policy in India) was the keynote speaker for electric vehicle session. Other eminent dignitaries including Pankaj Batra, Member- Planning, CEA, Reji Pillai, President, India Smart Grid Forum, Karthick Athmanathan, Head-EV & eMobility, Ashok Leyland, Ben Rainwater, COO, EnerBlu and Ajay Goel, COO, Sun Mobility, shared their valuable insights on the critical role of energy storage infrastructure in mass scale shift to electrification of Indian railways and electric vehicles (EVs). Naveen Munjal, MD, Hero Electric, Anil Chutani, Vice President, ACME CleanTech Solutions, Pramod Kulkarni, Customized Energy Solutions-USA, Joy Nandi, Head- NCR, Lithium Urban Technologies, Saurabh Rohila, Associate Director, ‎Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers and other key players, Electric Vehicles session paved new hope to accelerate India’s ambitious target of EV transformation.

In its endeavour to make India a global investment and manufacturing hub for energy storage, the Make in India session created an impactful ideas exchange platform for veterans such as Manuj Khurana, AVP, Invest India, Robert Pedraza, Chief Strategy Officer, EnerBlu, Hiren Shah, Sr. Director, Energy Storage, Delta Electronics India Pvt Ltd, Anant Nahata, MD, Exicom Tele Systems, Babu Babel, Former President, IEEMA.

An interesting session on renewable integration was chaired by Pankaj Batra, Member- Planning, CEA and attended Pranav Mehta, Chairman, NSEFI, Dr. K. Balaraman, Director General, NIWE, Vishwanathan Iyer, Sterling & Wilson, Naresh Panchal, Suzlon and highlighted the significance of energy storage innovation in enabling RE integration in the country.

Highlighting the impact of ESI 2018 with respect to India’s need for advanced energy storage technologies in current promising scenario and positive policy framework, Dr. Rahul Walawalkar, Executive Director, Indian Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) said, “ESI 2018 has proved itself as the largest transformation platform by setting right expectation for India’s ambition to become a global pioneer in renewable, microgrids and electric vehicles. This event has gained global attention and recognition with participation from more than 1000+ industry experts, 100+ speakers, 50+ exhibitors and partners participating from over 25 countries. With the fifth edition of Energy Storage India, we are confident that 2018 will be the year of the action, where we will start seeing the large-scale deployments of energy storage technologies.”

“From being the industry awareness generator and knowledge hub to the successful draft roadmap announced in 2015-16 for energy storage and micro-grids, now IESA’s honest efforts can expect the actual Energy Storage Mission to be announced within the next three to six months,” he further added.

In its endeavour to make India a global investment and manufacturing hub for energy storage, the Make in India session created an impactful ideas exchange platform for veterans such as Manuj Khurana, AVP, Invest India, Daniel Elliot, President & CEO, EnerBlu, Hiren Shah, Sr. Director, Energy Storage, Delta Electronics India Pvt Ltd, Anant Nahata, MD, Exicom Tele Systems, Arun Tripathy, Head, Energy Storage, Hero Future Energies and Subodh Kumar, CGM, India Oil.