Plans mooted to produce rechargeable batteries using local graphite
The Ministry of Science and Technology has focused its attention on the production of rechargeable batteries using local graphite.
A new low-cost technology has been discovered as a result of the latest research conducted by the National Institute of Fundamental Studies (NIFS) affiliated to the Ministry of Science and Technology to make local graphite extremely pure for rechargeable battery production.
A discussion on the production of rechargeable batteries using pure local graphite and its commercialization was held recently at the Ministry’s auditorium under the patronage of Science and Technology Minister Prof. Krishantha Abeysena.
Sri Lanka is rich in graphite of the highest quality and highest standard among the graphite found in various countries of the world. Graphite is used as a raw material in a large number of industries around the world. Among them, the rechargeable battery manufacturing industry holds a prominent place. For this industry, graphite needs to be purified to a purity of about 99.99 %.
However, the current graphite purification process is expensive. As a remedy to this, a group of researchers at the NIFS in Sri Lanka have developed a new low-cost technology for purifying local graphite, which has a very high commercial value.
Throughout history, instead of producing and exporting value-added products based on the country’s natural resources, these local natural resources have been exported in large quantities as raw materials. At the same time, there is a major problem of not commercializing new knowledge and technology generated through research conducted in the country. This project has a particularly important place as a step forward in line with the new government’s programme to address this.
The discussion was held between officials of the Ministry of Science and Technology, scientists from the NIFS and private sector stakeholders who intend to invest in this project. The purpose of the discussion was to exchange views among the relevant parties on the opportunities for the country to reap economic benefits by promoting this technological method to a commercial level.
The discussion was held very constructively with positive responses from the relevant parties. Accordingly, the next steps of the project are to be reached on the basis of a memorandum of understanding. The event was attended by Secretary to the Ministry of Science and Technology Y.L. Mohamed Nawawi, representatives of the NIFS including Prof Athula Sumathipala, Prof. Cyril Wijesundara, Dr. Athula Wijesinghe, National Science Foundation (NSF) Chairman Prof. Saman Senaweera, Chief Innovation Officer of the National Innovation Institute Prof. Ajith de Alwis, and Prof. Upul Sonnadara of the University of Colombo.
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