SUMMARY
- India will soon float bids for 10 GW of battery energy storage projects to enhance domestic capabilities.
- The initiative aligns with India’s EV mission and net zero by 2070 target, reducing reliance on imported ICE vehicles.
- The summit featured over 300 industry leaders, highlighting the potential of 2,500 GWh for India’s supply chain and the goal of 550 GWh in cell manufacturing by 2035.
The Indian government is set to release tenders for 10 gigawatts (GW) of battery energy storage projects, a move aimed at advancing the country’s energy storage capabilities. Vijay Mittal, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Heavy Industries, announced this during a virtual address at the ‘Summit on Lithium-Ion Batteries’ organized by the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA).
Mittal confirmed that the Request for Proposal (RFP) for these grid-scale energy storage systems would be issued soon, with the goal of developing indigenous manufacturing capabilities for battery energy storage systems in line with advanced chemistry cells. This initiative is part of India’s broader electric vehicle (EV) strategy, which seeks to strengthen domestic manufacturing while reducing reliance on imported internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. The government’s target is to reach net zero emissions by 2070, thus addressing environmental concerns.
In line with this, the government has already allocated 40 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of battery manufacturing capacity under the ACC-PLI (Advanced Chemistry Cell Production Linked Incentive) scheme, out of a planned 50 GWh. This allocation has been made to various original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to further promote local production of advanced chemistry cells.
Addressing the summit, Rahul Walwalker, Chairman of IESA, highlighted the global shift towards diversifying supply chains away from China, with India emerging as a key player. Walwalker mentioned that there is a potential market opportunity of 2,500 GWh for the supply chain in India. The IESA aims to scale up domestic manufacturing, targeting 50 GWh by 2035 under the ACC-PLI scheme, with a larger vision of achieving 550 GWh of cell manufacturing capacity.
The summit saw the participation of over 300 industry leaders, with discussions covering R&D, innovation, manufacturing, supply chain management, electric mobility, recycling, and emerging energy storage technologies.
