US, India governments launch task force to promote energy storage technologies

The US-India Energy Storage Task Force (ESTF), a public-private initiative established by the US Department of Energy and India's Ministry of Power to boost storage technologies in both nations, announced it had officially commenced operations. A virtual launch of will be held on December 13, with the public launch of memberships. 

The ESTF was first mooted at the October 2022 ministry-level meeting of the US-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP) held between Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

Rakesh Kumar, Secretary, Central Electricity Authority, will co-chair the task force from India, while Eric Hsieh, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Storage in the US Department of Energy will co-chair the initiative from the US side. The India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA), an industry alliance focused on the development of advanced energy storage, green hydrogen, and e-mobility technologies in India, will serve as the Secretariat.

The ESTF will work towards further advancing the goals of the SCEP, including developing and deploying emerging clean energy technologies to decarbonize the energy sector. It will nurture innovative practices in energy storage through joint studies, R&D collaborations, technology demonstrations, and pilot projects.

Additionally, the initiative will focus on the safety and standards for energy storage technologies, including production, transportation, deployment, commissioning, recycling, re-use and disposal. It will also review existing testing facilities and procedures and provide recommendations on establishing testing labs and protocols.

Debi Prasad Dash, Executive Director, IESA and Secretary, ESTF Secretariat, said the task force would support both countries to bring about technology collaboration in the areas of manufacturing, supply chain and deployment of advanced technologies.

The ESTF's engagement plan includes periodical webinars, working group meetings, bilateral trade delegations, knowledge exchange programs and inter-governmental meetings, he said.

The ESTF will also seek to facilitate dialogue among US and Indian government officials, industry representatives, and other stakeholders to scale-up and accelerate the deployment of energy storage technologies.

Commenting on the initiative, co-chair Shri Rakesh Kumar said the ESTF aimed to provide "reliable, sustainable, and affordable energy storage solutions" for integrating large-scale planned RE capacity additions. "Synergizing the efforts and resources of the two countries would help India in achieving clean energy transition and targeted net zero emission by 2070," he said.

Eric Hsieh of the US DoE, who will also serve as co-chair, said, "The launch of the ESTF between the US and India demonstrates how critical partnerships are to achieving the clean energy transition, as well as the importance of broad collaboration to accelerate storage technologies." He pointed out that stored energy "is a key component of integrating renewable resources into the electric grid in America and around the globe", indicating the initiative could well expand globally.