New Delhi, Feb 2 (PTI) The government is making efforts to promote research and innovation in future energy materials in general, and in aluminium ion batteries, sodium ion batteries, polymer batteries and graphene-based batteries in specific, Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science and Technology informed that the Department of Science and Technology (DST) is supporting development of indigenous technology for batteries, especially in the field of graphene-based batteries.

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The DST has also supported a project on graphene protected Si Nano-Spheres (interconnected) for developing high energy density Li-Ion battery.

Singh said the government is making efforts to promote research and innovation in future energy materials in general, and in aluminium ion batteries, sodium ion batteries, polymer batteries and graphene-based batteries in specific.

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He said the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), statutory body under the DST, has supported 42 projects, including few national and international conferences and workshops in order to disseminate the knowledge of advancement in future energy materials in general, and in aluminium ion batteries, sodium ion batteries, polymer batteries and graphene based batteries in specific.

The minister said NITI Aayog has nudged institutions to focus on creating world-class EV R&D infrastructure and innovation programmes to create future workforce and facilitate the acceleration in adoption of electric mobility ecosystem in India.

So far, nine IITs have launched higher educational programmes at master's and doctoral levels and some have established dedicated centres.

The International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), an autonomous research and development centre of DST, is working on materials and devices for super-capacitor and Na-ion (Sodium ion) battery as future technologies.

The ARCI has been engaged in development of indigenous technologies to produce electrode materials (cathode and anode) in large quantities for Li-ion batteries for electric vehicles. ARCI has also successfully demonstrated technologies for Lithium-Ion-Phosphate (LFP) and Lithinium Titanate (LTO), which are key materials in Li-ion batteries.

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