ISRO to transfer lithium ion cell technology for Rs 1 cr
Chennai, June 12: Indian space agency ISRO on Tuesday announced it has decided to transfer its own lithium ion cell technology to Indian industry on a non-exclusive basis for usage in automobiles for Rs 1 crore.
In a statement, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said the initiative will accelerate the development of indigenous electric vehicle industry.
The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) located in Kerala will transfer the lithium ion cell technology to the successful Indian industries/start-ups on non-exclusive basis to establish production facilities in the country that can produce cells of varying size, capacity, energy density and power density catering to the entire spectrum of power storage requirements, ISRO said.
According to ISRO, the request for qualification (RFQ) will be issued from Wednesday for a price of Rs 25,000 and a security deposit of Rs 400,000 has to be paid along with the application.
The RFQ contains a brief description of qualification process & technology transfer process, instructions to applicants, eligibility criteria, timelines and various forms for submitting RFQ.
Interested applicants shall attend a pre-application conference scheduled on July 13. All queries or request for additional information concerning the RFQ shall be attended only in the pre-application conference, the space agency said.
ISRO also said that the "competent firm's security deposit will be adjusted against the technology transfer fee of Rs 100 lakh. Security deposit of unsuccessful applicants or withdrawn applications will be returned, without any interest".
The one-time technology transfer fee has to be paid within 30 days of qualification date.
"Technology shall be transferred to all/any of the competent firms who qualify the eligibility criteria as specified in the RFQ. The required process documents shall be provided by ISRO at the time of signing of technology transfer agreement and payment of technology transfer fee," ISRO said.
Presently, the lithium-ion battery is the most dominant battery system finding applications for a variety of societal needs including mobile phones, laptops, cameras and many other portable consumer gadgets apart from industrial applications and aerospace.
Recent advances in the battery technology have made it the preferred power source for electric and hybrid electric vehicles also.
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England sticking with Key, McCullum and Stokes despite Ashes humbling
London (AP): England is not sacking anybody following the 4-1 Ashes loss in Australia.
A review of the tour by the England and Wales Cricket Board, announced within hours of the final match in January, was concluded on Monday. Firing people would “be the easy thing to do,” ECB chief executive Richard Gould said but he insisted, "This is not the time to throw everything out."
Managing director Rob Key, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes kept their jobs after the best England side to go to Australia in 14 years lost the Ashes in 11 days with two games to spare.
“Moving people on can sometimes be the easy thing to do. That's not the route that we're going to take,” Gould said. “I've seen the driving ambition and determination that we're lucky enough to have within our leadership group to take the lessons from the Ashes and move forward.”
Gould previously was the chief executive of Bristol City soccer club and said the ECB would not follow the same route as soccer's hire-and-fire culture.
“Cricket is a very unique sport in that it takes a team of leadership ... it's not like football where there's a single point of failure or success with a manager," he said. He added the ECB would not “select or deselect management based on a popularity campaign.”
The main criticisms of England's tour were poor preparation, player misbehavior, and selection mistakes.
At a press conference at Lord's, Gould and Key said McCullum and Stokes have not had a “bust up,” they did not want McCullum to “completely change” but “to evolve,” the behavior of some players was “unprofessional,” there will be more consequences for underperforming, and a commitment to “better long-term planning” ahead of major test series.
Some changes were already implemented for the Twenty20 World Cup, where England reached the semifinals. Gould implied that performance saved McCullum.
Key acknowledged that England supporters would be disappointed to see the management team go unpunished.
“I know people want punishment and that people then should be sacked for that,” Key said. “That doesn't mean we don't feel like we've gone through some serious pain: Brendon, myself, Ben. It's been as tough a time as I think I've had.”
