A state-backed Russian investment agency is to help finance the launch of commercial lithium-ion battery production in the country.
The Industrial Development Fund (IDF) is backing plans by engines manufacturer PJSC Saturn to start “mass production” of lithium-ion batteries at its plant in Krasnodar starting in 2020.
The initial aim of the project is to use lithium instead of nickel-cadmium and silver-zinc battery technology for aircraft starter batteries.
However, the vice-governor of the southwestern Krasnodar region, Vasiliy Shvets (pictured), said the aim would be to also make batteries for backup power systems “to be sold throughout Russia”.
According to the IDF, it is providing a loan equivalent to US$1.05 million to support the production of batteries by Saturn. An additional $451,000 of financing will come from a regional development fund.
The IDF said the project aims to reduce reliance on nickel-cadmium and silver-zinc battery technology for aviation. The former is “extremely expensive due to the use of precious metals, and the latter has low characteristics”.
The use of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries is expected to lead to a two-fold decrease in operating costs, the IDF said.
Shvets told Russian news agency TASS the project marked the first “industrial production” of lithium-ion batteries in the country.
Total investment in the project including the IDF and regional financing, amounted to around $3.4m, Shvets said. “Serial production will begin by the first quarter of 2020.”
Shvets said “pilot batches” of batteries are planned as part of a production trial in 2019 “thanks to state support”.
