Page 137 - CW E-Magazine (26-12-2023)

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SUBSTANTIAL EXPANSION The tungsten royalty rate is pro- duction was reported for 2018-19, projects, and quicker release of funds
Log9 announces plan to boost lithium-ion battery posed at 3% of the average sale price 2019-20, and 2020-21. “Thus, reduc- to these agencies. “The decision to
of tungsten dioxide; the vanadium tion in rate of royalty for cadmium allow NPEAs to directly submit pro-
cell capacity royalty rate for the primary offering and vanadium will not have a major jects will cut delays in sanction of
projects, as well as help in faster exe-
is 4% of the average sale price of fi nancial impact,” said an offi cial.
vanadium pentoxide and 2% for the cution of projects,” a Ministry offi cial
Log9 Materials, an advanced to 1-GWh. So, a couple of GWh is optimise costs, and improve techno- by-product. Direct sanction to notifi ed agencies said.
deep-tech battery start-up incubated what we are planning to do in the next logy.” Log9 Materials initially entered In another development, the
at IIT Roorkee, is gearing up for sub- 2-2.5 years.” the market in 2021, offering batte- The proposed royalty rate in respect Mines Ministry said it will directly According to the official, besides
stantial expansion in its lithium-ion ries for 3-wheelers and subsequently of cadmium and vanadium is lower as sanction exploration projects to noti- stepping up the “pace of explora-
battery manufacturing capabilities. The start-up, which secured $40- expanding into the 2- and 4-wheeler compared to the existing royalty rate. fied private exploration agencies tion” of critical minerals, the new
mn in a series B funding round in Janu- segments. Mr. Singhal emphasised However, no production of vanadium is (NPEAs) for critical and deep-seated approach could also help bring in
The company, which established ary this year, is strategically aligning Log9’s presence in the commercial reported in the country. minerals. international firms and new techno-
its lithium-ion cell manufacturing itself with the increasing demand for utility space, particularly in 2-wheelers logies. “Further, these agencies will
facility earlier this year, is set to in- electric vehicles (EVs), especially in for food and e-commerce delivery, Similarly, in the case of cadmium, The new approach, aimed at giv- be allowed to bid in the auction of
crease its capacity from the current the commercial and industrial sectors. and cargo vehicles in the 4-wheeler small production was reported in ing an impetus to exploration of these mineral blocks explored by them,
50-MWh to 1-GWh. segment. 2016-17 and 2017-18 (35 tonnes and minerals, is expected to streamline which was not allowed earlier,” the
Mr. Singhal highlighted the com- 47 tonnes, respectively), but no pro- the process, ensure faster sanction of official explained.
In addition to the lithium-ion cell pany’s rapid progress, stating, “We The company is actively diversi-
expansion, Bengaluru-based Log9 have grown our battery pack manu- fying its portfolio to cater to various FINANCING PROGRAMME
Materials has its sights on boost- facturing capacity from 40-MWh in commercial mobility use cases, in-
ing its battery pack manufacturing 2021 to 250-MWh today. cluding 2-, 3-, and 4-wheelers, as well RIL teams up with DBS Bank for compressed
capacity to 2-GWh within the next as industrial equipment like forklifts
15-18 months. Mr. Akshay Singhal, We have brought in a lot of auto- and tow trucks. Looking ahead, biogas push
Co-founder and CEO of Log9 Mate- mation and improved the process as Mr. Singhal revealed Log9 Materials’
rials, revealed, “Our lithium-ion well as enhanced the effi ciency of ambition to venture into other com- Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) “Bold initiatives like the com- lities will be linked to a network of
manufacturing facility has a capacity manufacturing. We continue to scale mercial user segments, such as large and DBS Bank India have colla- pressed biogas plants, spearheaded biogas dispensing stations operated
of 50-MWh, that needs to be expanded up lithium-ion cell manufacturing, trucks and buses. borated to establish a financing pro- by Reliance Industries, are an impor- by Reliance Jio BP.
gramme customised to the require- tant step forward to reduce depen-
RATE RATIONALISATION ments of the compressed biogas dence on fossil fuels. Reliance has set up a flagship
Mines Ministry proposes new set of royalties for 12 (CBG) project initiated by RIL. Transition fi nancing plays a cru- CBG production facility in Barabanki,
Uttar Pradesh, which is expected
critical minerals The financing will enable the cial role in enabling businesses to to cut down CO emissions by
2
ecosystem development for vendor identify and scale new technologies 40,000-tonnes annually, the com-
The Mines Ministry plans to propose the fi rst exercise, include beryllium, used in aerospace and defence appli- partners to aggregate agri-residue that can accelerate the path to decar- pany said.
a new set of royalty rates across 12 re- indium, rhenium, tellurium, cadmium, cations, is proposed at 2%, slightly as inputs for the Reliance CBG pro- bonisation,” said Mr. Rajat Verma,
cently identifi ed critical minerals. The cobalt, gallium, selenium, tantalum, lower than the severance rate of the duction plants across India, the com- Managing Director and Head “Compressed biogas plants are
rationalised royalty rates are pegged titanium, tungsten and vanadium. US (the largest producer), which is at panies said in a press release. of Institutional Banking, DBS Bank one of the key ways to utilise the
between 2-4%, depending on the mineral 2.6%. India. massive organic waste that our society
and its by-product extracted, a report in Additional payment over the roy- At Reliance’s 46th annual general produces, the burning of which is
the Hindu BusinessLine said. alty is quoted by the bidders as a pre- Indium, rhenium and tellurium meeting (AGM), Chairman Mukesh The company said the funding one of the major contributors to air
mium payable to the State Govern- royalty rates are also proposed at 2% Ambani had said the company tar- structure will ensure that the logis- pollution. In addition to the miti-
A draft note is reportedly being ments, based on which a successful of the average sale price of the rele- gets to establish 100 CBG plants tics are designed in a way that the gating effect on carbon emissions,
prepared and is to be shared across bidder is selected. So having a reason- vant metal rechargeable on the rele- in the next five years, consuming new stream remains competitive the Reliance CBG plants will also
other ministries, such as New and able rate of royalty would not ad- vant metal contained in ore. 5.5-mtpa of agri-residue and organic and achieves enhanced commercial contribute towards the production of
Renewable Energy, Steel, Heavy versely affect the revenue earning of waste. scale. Fermented Organic Manure (FOM),
Industries, Science and Technology, the State, but would help in attracting For cadmium (a by-product of zinc which will enhance soil fertility and
and Power, among others. more players in the auction of blocks. refi ning), cobalt, gallium, selenium, He said the move would help in Reliance is setting up biogas faci- reduce consumption of chemical
tantalum and titanium, the rate of the mitigating nearly 2-mt of carbon lities at multiple locations in Uttar fertilisers over a period,” said Mr.
The 12 critical minerals, whose Proposed rates primary ore is 4% while the by-pro- emissions and producing 2.5-mt of Pradesh by using surplus agri-resi- Harindra Tripathi, Head Bio-energy
royalty rates will be rationalised in The rate for beryllium, which is duct is priced at a 2% royalty rate. organic manure annually. due and organic waste. These faci- Business, RIL.

136 Chemical Weekly December 26, 2023 Chemical Weekly December 26, 2023 137

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