KILOWATT LABS

Ghani Global Holdings Limited (GGL) a Lahore based Islamic-commerce oriented industrial and manufacturing group, on Wednesday announced its foray into the manufacturing of sophisticated technology for enhancing energy storage efficiency through production of long-life super capacitor energy storage in Pakistan. In this connection, the project launching ceremony is being held on Tuesday November 16, 2021. Experts of the said group informed that the project shall be completed in a joint venture arrangement with M/s Kilowatt Labs Inc., New York USA. They informed that the global demand for energy is projected to increase to 2.5 - 4 terawatt-hours annually by 2030. According to the Report on the Energy Storage Market of December 2020 of the US Department of Energy's Research Technology Investment Committee, the global market consists of two types: stationery and mobility/transportation markets which are estimated to grow three to five times from the current 800 gigawatt-hour (Gwh) on annual basis. The rapid decrease in battery storage costs and increased variable renewable generation has led to a surge in market deployment of energy storage across the global electrical (stationary) and transportation (mobility) sectors. There is growing applicability of storage technologies in the mobility/transportation sectors for the storage purpose; while stationary storage technology is deployed in transmission & distribution, Microgrid, long duration storage, industrial storage, EV Charging Infrastructure, uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for data centres, warehouses, telecom towers and military/security purposes, they maintained. In Pakistan, the energy storage market and capacity is quite basic and fragmented. The country is beset by frequent power outages, unreliable transmission infrastructure, short life and low efficiency alternatives. The introduction of long life (about 45 years) super capacitor energy storage solutions by GGL, will not only improve the usage of green and alternative energy technologies in the country, but will add to long term energy security situation of the country. With the start of manufacturing of newer generation technology-oriented energy solution in Pakistan, Ghani Global Group will add yet another dimension to the localization of industry in the country. By 2030, global energy storage markets are estimated to grow to 2,500-4,000 GWh annually, three to five times the current 800-gigawatt-hour (GWh) annual demand. Driven by the growth of electrified transportation, a rapid decrease in battery storage costs, increased deployment of renewable generation as a power source, regulatory mandates and improved technology, energy storage is now fundamental to decarbonization and electrification of energy. The Pakistan battery market is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 3% during 2020-2025. The growing automotive sector as well as residential and commercial demand due to load-shedding are advancing the market. In addition, the telecom, defence, UPS, data center, microgrid and large scale solar and wind farm projects are expected to contribute to the growth in demand for energy storage. Moreover, there has been a sharp increase in the sales of automobiles, particularly of the two- and four-wheeler varieties, which also include electric vehicles. This has increased the demand for automotive batteries. Keeping in view growing domestic and international demand and export potential, Ghani Global Group and Kilowatt Labs, Inc. have joined hands to launch a mega-venture in Energy Storage Sector in Pakistan. The venture is aimed at establishing a state-of-the-art manufacturing and R&D facility for manufacturing Supercapacitor Energy Storage. Supercapacitor energy storage technology has been invented by Mr. Waseem Ashraf Qureshi, who is the cofounder, CEO and CTO of Kilowatt Labs, Inc. which is headquartered in New York City, and is commercializing the invention. Currently distributed in more than 40 countries, “Sirius” supercap energy storage is a nonchemical, degradation free, longer lasting, more temperature resilient, faster charging, environmentally sustainable and cheaper alternative to chemical batteries in all applications. The goal of Kilowatt Labs is to enable decarbonization of the energy grid through integration of renewable energy, transport electrification through faster charging storage and energy access through microgrids. Mr. Qureshi is a graduate of UET and the youngest recipient of the National Science Award in Pakistan, which he received at the age of 15. He has subsequently received several other national accolades.

Capacitor storage, invented in 1746, much before the chemical battery, charges and discharges electrostatically, which means it does not contain a chemical electrolyte for storage and neither does it have a chemical reaction while charging and discharging. Therefore, it does not degrade (there is no electrolyte to degrade) and has cycle life that is significantly longer than a regular lead acid or Lihtium Ion battery. Very importantly, it Sirius supercap storage does not lose its capacity over time, like Lead Acid and Lithium do. During charging or discharging, it is not affected by the hot temperature, does not generate heat, can be charged quickly and is significantly safer and noncombustible.

Kilowatt Labs proprietary electronic control technology enables Sirius supercapacitor storage to be used instead of Lead Acid or Lithium Ion batteries in every application including residential, commercial and industrial, solar + storage, UPS storage, telecom, data center, defence, microgrids and large scale solar and wind farms. And cost wise, Sirius supercap storage is the most economical storage in the market.

Sirius Supercap Storage promotes a fundamental shift in thinking and is a real solution to advance the usability of renewable energy.

Sirius supercap storage eliminates the problems of using Lead Acid and Lithium Ion batteries, specifically, safety, longevity and limited cycling capabilities.

Sirius Modules

Do Not Contain Any Chemical Electrolyte And There Is

NO Chemical Reaction while Charging or Discharging

The Future Vision

The UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 states that people should have access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy. This requires adoption, deployment and transformation to renewable energy - swiftly and efficiently. G3 & Kilowatt Labs are poised to bring to Pakistan, Supercap Storage technology that will enhance the vision of Pakistan and develop it in-line with the UN Strategic Development Goals. A key ingredient in this transformation is energy storage, which is essential in ensuring renewable-based energy availability 24-hours a day. Technology development of chemical batteries have improved performance over the past decade. However, scientific limitations in the chemical storage process are now inhibiting any further meaningful improvements in performance.

The Project

G3 & Kilowatt Labs will be partnering in this 100M USD project which is aimed at setting up a complete Technology Park with state of the art production facility, an Incubation Center, an R&D center for developing and exploring the advancements in energy storage.

The Project is planned to be set up in FIDMEC and Land is already procured and infrastructure ground breaking will be done soon after launch. The group also aims to establish smaller assembling facilities in Karachi and with various partners for catering to special market segments.

The main production facility is initially planned at 250MWh/Yr capacity to be extended in later phases. The facility will feature a state of art Pakistan's first supercapacitor cell manufacturing unit and production lines for the entire range of Sirius supercap storage models including solar, UPS, data centre, telecom, automotive, defence, solar and wind farms.

The Economy

Power generation in Pakistan is majorly dependent on fossil fuels. Energy demand is increasing by more than 9% annually and it is expected to increase 8- fold by 2030 and 20-fold by 2050 from 2018 levels. The project aims to manufacture Sirius supercap energy storage to support a base of green energy which was at 4% of the energy mix in 2018. The government is planning to increase this to 30% by 2030. Such a significant expansion of renewable energy capacity is expected to come mainly from wind and solar. During FY 2017-18, around 450 MW of solar power generation licenses were issued in the country.

Besides, such positive outlook from thesolar power and energy storage sector, replacement of low-quality, short-life and unsafe lead-acid and Lithium Ion batteries widely used in hybrid solar systems in the residential and commercial areas as well as in the off-grid systems in rural parts of the country, will also be a key demand driver. Factors such as renewable energy, infrastructure development, EV market, and government initiative are likely to drive the Pakistan battery market during the forecast period. Beside enabling the reduction in the import bill, job creation will be a key factor in the project. As the venture aims not only in creating a job base but also creating a technically superior job base so as to increase the quality of Human resource.

The Export Potential

Until now Pakistan has been importing Li-Ion batteries and that is contributing to the swelling of import bill of Pakistan. The venture aims to export not only the finished modules but also supercapacitor cells. The targeted annual export ratio is 50% of production which will account to almost 35-40 Million USD in global sales. So not only the venture will save on the import bill but also gain on the export side thereby creating a double effect of 70-80 Million USD annually to the economy.

Waseem Ashraf CEO Kilowatt Labs Inc USA

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021