Latest news with #EnergyStorage
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Macsen Labs Achieves Breakthrough in Sodium-Ion Battery Chemistry, Files Provisional Patent, and Advances Toward Pilot-Scale Manufacturing
Video Link: UDAIPUR, India, July 21, 2025 /CNW/ -- Macsen Labs, a manufacturer of APIs, dyes, and specialty chemicals since 1952, has announced a major breakthrough in Sodium-Ion battery technology through the successful R&D-scale synthesis of its high-performance Prussian White, a next-generation cathode material for Sodium-Ion batteries. The company has filed a provisional patent for its proprietary synthesis process. The material has already undergone optimization for battery use at the company's electrochemistry and battery R&D facility and has shown promising results, driving the next phase toward pilot-scale manufacturing. "It's an interesting story, how a pharmaceutical company like ours entered the energy storage space," said Mr. Achal Agrawal, CEO of Macsen Labs and the lead researcher behind the project. "While working on Prussian Blue as a drug for radioactive poisoning, we discovered its derivative — Prussian White, which was emerging as a leading candidate for Sodium-Ion battery cathodes. That moment of curiosity led us down this path." Exactly one year ago, with zero experience in electrochemistry, Macsen's team fabricated a basic pouch cell inside a regular chemistry R&D lab, without specialized equipment. "We had no glovebox, no coater, no calendering machine, just our lab experience and synthesized material," recalled Agrawal. "When that small cell lit up an LED bulb, we knew we had something worth pursuing. That spark led us to establish a full-fledged electrochemistry lab." Today, Macsen's battery R&D facility includes an argon-filled glovebox for inert atmosphere handling, coin and pouch cell fabrication stations, electrode coaters, crimpers, vacuum dryers, and electrochemical testing systems, such as cyclers and potentiostats. With this setup, Macsen can rapidly prototype and test battery cells using its own synthesized materials, significantly reducing development time. The company already operates a pilot-scale chemical synthesis facility, which is now being used to produce Prussian White at a kilogram scale. Through numerous experiments conducted over the last year, the team has gained proficiency in Prussian White chemistry and has achieved what is likely to be one of the finest quality variants produced to date. Through its proprietary process, Macsen has achieved an energy density exceeding 150 mAh/g with Prussian White, which is comparable to Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP). The material also shows excellent stability, fast sodium-ion mobility due to its open crystalline structure, and compatibility with existing Li-ion cell manufacturing infrastructure. "Performance-wise, it's at par with LFP, but made from abundant, low-cost materials like sodium and iron," said Agrawal. "And these elements are easily available, affordable, and free from geopolitical constraints." This project, originally incubated within Macsen Labs, is now being advanced under a dedicated entity currently under formation — 'Macsen Energy', which will focus exclusively on energy storage innovation and scale-up. "The real potential of sodium-ion batteries lies not just in electric vehicles," said Agrawal. "It lies in stationary energy storage systems that store and manage renewable energy from solar and wind. This is where India's energy transition will happen at scale." Macsen's current Sodium-Ion battery technology, using its Prussian White as cathode paired with a hard carbon anode, is well suited for applications such as battery energy storage systems (BESS) for grid and solar, household backup and inverter systems, short-range EVs, auto-rickshaws, two-wheelers, city buses, rural microgrids, and energy access solutions. The company is now focusing not only on improving cycle life, energy density, charge-discharge rates, and optimizing electrolyte-additive systems, but also on reducing the cost contribution of other components of the battery cell. Macsen aims to develop economical form factors by innovatively combining low-cost battery materials, components, and manufacturing processes, especially for large-scale stationary energy storage. One inherent cost advantage of sodium-ion technology is its use of aluminium in place of copper as the cathode current collector, which would further reduce raw material costs. To demonstrate the performance of Prussian White in commercial large-format cells, Macsen is setting up a pilot-scale cell fabrication line. The company is already sourcing equipment for this and aims to have the pilot-scale production facility operational by early 2026. "We are trying to make a new energy future for India," concluded Agrawal. "Sodium-ion batteries are India's opportunity to build a truly indigenous, scalable, and affordable energy storage ecosystem." Contactcorporate@ Video: View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Macsen Labs Group View original content to download multimedia: Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Macsen Labs Achieves Breakthrough in Sodium-Ion Battery Chemistry, Files Provisional Patent, and Advances Toward Pilot-Scale Manufacturing
Video Link: UDAIPUR, India, July 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Macsen Labs, a manufacturer of APIs, dyes, and specialty chemicals since 1952, has announced a major breakthrough in Sodium-Ion battery technology through the successful R&D-scale synthesis of its high-performance Prussian White, a next-generation cathode material for Sodium-Ion batteries. The company has filed a provisional patent for its proprietary synthesis process. The material has already undergone optimization for battery use at the company's electrochemistry and battery R&D facility and has shown promising results, driving the next phase toward pilot-scale manufacturing. 'It's an interesting story, how a pharmaceutical company like ours entered the energy storage space,' said Mr. Achal Agrawal, CEO of Macsen Labs and the lead researcher behind the project. 'While working on Prussian Blue as a drug for radioactive poisoning, we discovered its derivative — Prussian White, which was emerging as a leading candidate for Sodium-Ion battery cathodes. That moment of curiosity led us down this path.' Exactly one year ago, with zero experience in electrochemistry, Macsen's team fabricated a basic pouch cell inside a regular chemistry R&D lab, without specialized equipment. 'We had no glovebox, no coater, no calendering machine, just our lab experience and synthesized material,' recalled Agrawal. 'When that small cell lit up an LED bulb, we knew we had something worth pursuing. That spark led us to establish a full-fledged electrochemistry lab.' Today, Macsen's battery R&D facility includes an argon-filled glovebox for inert atmosphere handling, coin and pouch cell fabrication stations, electrode coaters, crimpers, vacuum dryers, and electrochemical testing systems, such as cyclers and potentiostats. With this setup, Macsen can rapidly prototype and test battery cells using its own synthesized materials, significantly reducing development time. The company already operates a pilot-scale chemical synthesis facility, which is now being used to produce Prussian White at a kilogram scale. Through numerous experiments conducted over the last year, the team has gained proficiency in Prussian White chemistry and has achieved what is likely to be one of the finest quality variants produced to date. Through its proprietary process, Macsen has achieved an energy density exceeding 150 mAh/g with Prussian White, which is comparable to Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP). The material also shows excellent stability, fast sodium-ion mobility due to its open crystalline structure, and compatibility with existing Li-ion cell manufacturing infrastructure. 'Performance-wise, it's at par with LFP, but made from abundant, low-cost materials like sodium and iron,' said Agrawal. 'And these elements are easily available, affordable, and free from geopolitical constraints.' This project, originally incubated within Macsen Labs, is now being advanced under a dedicated entity currently under formation — 'Macsen Energy', which will focus exclusively on energy storage innovation and scale-up. 'The real potential of sodium-ion batteries lies not just in electric vehicles,' said Agrawal. 'It lies in stationary energy storage systems that store and manage renewable energy from solar and wind. This is where India's energy transition will happen at scale.' Macsen's current Sodium-Ion battery technology, using its Prussian White as cathode paired with a hard carbon anode, is well suited for applications such as battery energy storage systems (BESS) for grid and solar, household backup and inverter systems, short-range EVs, auto-rickshaws, two-wheelers, city buses, rural microgrids, and energy access solutions. The company is now focusing not only on improving cycle life, energy density, charge-discharge rates, and optimizing electrolyte-additive systems, but also on reducing the cost contribution of other components of the battery cell. Macsen aims to develop economical form factors by innovatively combining low-cost battery materials, components, and manufacturing processes, especially for large-scale stationary energy storage. One inherent cost advantage of sodium-ion technology is its use of aluminium in place of copper as the cathode current collector, which would further reduce raw material costs. To demonstrate the performance of Prussian White in commercial large-format cells, Macsen is setting up a pilot-scale cell fabrication line. The company is already sourcing equipment for this and aims to have the pilot-scale production facility operational by early 2026. 'We are trying to make a new energy future for India,' concluded Agrawal. 'Sodium-ion batteries are India's opportunity to build a truly indigenous, scalable, and affordable energy storage ecosystem.' Contact [email protected] Video: Logo: View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Macsen Labs Group
Business Standard
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Tata Power Renewable Energy secures BESS project for Kerala State Electricity Board
NHPC (has been nominated as a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Implementing Agency (BIA) by Ministry of Power), through an International Bidding process, has selected Tata Power Renewable Energy (TPREL), a subsidiary of Tata Power Company for setting up BESS of capacity 30MW/120MWhr to be utilized by Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEBL) for optimizing their excess energy by storing it in the said storage asset. The said BESS asset shall be established at the Area code Substation of KSEBL located in Mulleria, District Kasaragod, Kerala. The estimated project cost is Rs 110 crore approximately.
Forbes
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Forbes
GM Supplying Batteries For Data Center, Grid Packs
Industrial battery units storing electricity in the desert. getty General Motors, which has poured billions of dollars into producing electric vehicle batteries at U.S. plants, is partnering with Redwood Materials to use some of its cells for stationary energy storage systems for the power grid as well as AI data centers. The Detroit-based automaker, which already supplies battery scrap materials to Redwood for recycling, plans to supply both new and used U.S.-made battery cells that Redwood will package as large stationary packs, the companies said. The move comes after Reno-based Redwood, founded by Tesla cofounder and current board member JB Straubel, last month created a new unit to supply energy storage packs called Redwood Energy. 'The market for grid-scale batteries and backup power isn't just expanding, it's becoming essential infrastructure,' said Kurt Kelty, GM's battery chief. 'Electricity demand is climbing and it's only going to accelerate.' Finding additional uses for battery cells beyond EVs can help GM maximize its investment in R&D and production of that technology as Trump Administration policies, distilled in the just-enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act, darken the outlook for not only EV sales but large-scale wind and solar projects. Pursuing new applications for cleaner, less-polluting energy technology is exactly what many investors are encouraging companies to do. 'Someone said, 'climate tech has gone from green to khaki,' because it's not just about green tech anymore. It's all about domestic security and domestic supply chains,' Nicole LeBlanc, a partner at Toyota's Woven Capital venture fund, recently told Forbes . 'From an investment perspective, that mitigates some uncertainties around the climate element in terms of the scaling of these technologies. Because now they have a second market that is accelerating and has more money in it.' For the latest in cleantech and sustainability news, sign up here for our Current Climate newsletter. GM is one of the fastest-growing sellers of electric vehicles in the U.S., posting a 104% gain in the first half owing to new models like the battery-powered Chevrolet Equinox, second only to Tesla in total volume. That growth pace isn't expected to continue later in the year. 'With government-backed incentives set to end in September and economic pressures mounting, the second half of the year will be a critical test of EV demand,' said Cox Automotive analyst Stephanie Valdez Streaty. 'Q3 will likely be a record, followed by a collapse in Q4, as the electric vehicle market adjusts to its new reality.' A modular battery microgrid powers Redwood Materials' Nevada campus. Redwood Materials Data Centers Data centers are a particularly fast-growing source of electricity consumption, likely to use 12% of U.S. power generation by 2028, according to the Energy Department. In June, Redwood said it supplied a 63 megawatt-hour battery microgrid for use by Crusoe, an AI infrastructure company, that's operating at its Nevada headquarters. That installation includes used GM batteries. GM already makes lithium-ion batteries for its electric models and this week announced plans to also make lower-cost lithium-iron phosphate cells at its Spring Hill, Tennessee, plant. The company also recently announced plans to begin producing lithium-manganese-rich cells, a new cell chemistry expected to shave at least $6,000 off the cost of electric truck battery packs. GM is upgrading its Spring Hill, Tennessee, plant to make lithium-iron-phosphate battery cells. General Motors GM and Redwood declined to provide financial details of the partnership, but will share more information later this year, they said in a statement. Redwood, which Straubel cofounded in 2019, recycles used lithium-ion cells to recover valuable raw materials and also makes components for new batteries. The closely held company estimates it's processing more than 20 gigawatt-hours of used battery cells–equivalent to 250,000 EVs–annually. Straubel and Kelty worked together at Tesla, building up the EV company's battery operations from its earliest days until 2017, when Kelty departed. Straubel, formerly Tesla's CTO, left the company in 2019 to focus on Redwood. GM shares rose about 1% to close at $53.18 in New York. More From Forbes Forbes GM's New Battery Will Cut The Cost Of Its Electric Trucks By Over $6,000 By Alan Ohnsman Forbes Redwood Materials Gears Up To Recycle First Big Wave Of Used EV Batteries By Alan Ohnsman Forbes Redwood Materials' New Specialty: Recycling EV Batteries Damaged By Fire And Hurricanes By Alan Ohnsman
Forbes
7 days ago
- Automotive
- Forbes
GM Supplying Redwood Materials With Batteries For Data Center, Grid Packs
Industrial battery units storing electricity in the desert. getty General Motors, which has poured billions of dollars into producing electric vehicle batteries at U.S. plants, is partnering with Redwood Materials to use some of its cells for stationary energy storage systems for the power grid as well as AI data centers. The Detroit-based automaker, which already supplies battery scrap materials to Redwood for recycling, plans to supply both new and used U.S.-made battery cells that Redwood will package as large stationary packs, the companies said. The move comes after Reno-based Redwood, founded by Tesla cofounder and current board member JB Straubel, last month created a new unit to supply energy storage packs called Redwood Energy. 'The market for grid-scale batteries and backup power isn't just expanding, it's becoming essential infrastructure,' said Kurt Kelty, GM's battery chief. 'Electricity demand is climbing and it's only going to accelerate.' Finding additional uses for battery cells beyond EVs can help GM maximize its investment in R&D and production of that technology as Trump Administration policies, distilled in the just-enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act, darken the outlook for not only EV sales but large-scale wind and solar projects. Pursuing new applications for cleaner, less-polluting energy technology is exactly what many investors are encouraging companies to do. 'Someone said, 'climate tech has gone from green to khaki,' because it's not just about green tech anymore. It's all about domestic security and domestic supply chains,' Nicole LeBlanc, a partner at Toyota's Woven Capital venture fund, recently told Forbes . 'From an investment perspective, that mitigates some uncertainties around the climate element in terms of the scaling of these technologies. Because now they have a second market that is accelerating and has more money in it.' GM is one of the fastest-growing sellers of electric vehicles in the U.S., posting a 104% gain in the first half owing to new models like the battery-powered Chevrolet Equinox, second only to Tesla in total volume. That growth pace isn't expected to continue later in the year. 'With government-backed incentives set to end in September and economic pressures mounting, the second half of the year will be a critical test of EV demand,' said Cox Automotive analyst Stephanie Valdez Streaty. 'Q3 will likely be a record, followed by a collapse in Q4, as the electric vehicle market adjusts to its new reality.' A modular battery microgrid powers Redwood Materials' Nevada campus. Redwood Materials Data Centers Data centers are a particularly fast-growing source of electricity consumption, likely to use 12% of U.S. power generation by 2028, according to the Energy Department. In June, Redwood said it supplied a 63 megawatt-hour battery microgrid for use by Crusoe, an AI infrastructure company, that's operating at its Nevada headquarters. That installation includes used GM batteries. GM already makes lithium-ion batteries for its electric models and this week announced plans to also make lower-cost lithium-iron phosphate cells at its Spring Hill, Tennessee, plant. The company also recently announced plans to begin producing lithium-manganese-rich cells, a new cell chemistry expected to shave at least $6,000 off the cost of electric truck battery packs. GM is upgrading its Spring Hill, Tennessee, plant to make lithium-iron-phosphate battery cells. General Motors GM and Redwood declined to provide financial details of the partnership, but will share more information later this year, they said in a statement. Redwood, which Straubel cofounded in 2019, recycles used lithium-ion cells to recover valuable raw materials and also makes components for new batteries. The closely held company estimates it's processing more than 20 gigawatt-hours of used battery cells–equivalent to 250,000 EVS–annually. Straubel and Kelty worked together at Tesla, building up the EV company's battery operations from its earliest days until 2017, when Kelty departed. Straubel, formerly Tesla's CTO, left the company in 2019 to focus on Redwood. More From Forbes Forbes GM's New Battery Will Cut The Cost Of Its Electric Trucks By Over $6,000 By Alan Ohnsman Forbes Redwood Materials Gears Up To Recycle First Big Wave Of Used EV Batteries By Alan Ohnsman Forbes Redwood Materials' New Specialty: Recycling EV Batteries Damaged By Fire And Hurricanes By Alan Ohnsman
