Reliance Industries Ltd has won the bid for an additional 10 GWh of battery manufacturing capacity under the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for advanced chemistry cell (ACC) battery production.
This comes with incentives worth Rs 3,620 crore. The new capacity is in addition to the 5 GWh Reliance had previously secured. Launched in 2021, the Rs 18,100-crore PLI scheme aims to establish 50 GWh of ACC manufacturing capacity in India.
The latest allocation is part of the remaining 20 GWh capacity left unassigned after Hyundai Global Motors withdrew from the initial bidding round. Earlier, 30 GWh of capacity had been awarded to Ola Cell Technologies, ACC Energy Storage, and Reliance New Energy Battery Storage in the first phase of the bidding, which was completed in March 2022.
ACC batteries represent advanced energy storage technology that can store electric energy either electrochemically or chemically, converting it back to electricity when needed. These batteries are essential for electric mobility and other applications.
The government opened bids for the 10 GWh capacity in January, with seven companies, including Reliance Industries, vying for a total capacity of 70 GWh. Other participants included ACME Cleantech Solutions, Amara Raja Advanced Cell Technologies, Anvi Power Industries, JSW Neo Energy, Lucas TVS, and Waaree Energies. The bidding process was conducted online in a two-stage procedure using the Quality and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) method.
The ministry announced that the following companies were waitlisted: ACME Cleantech Solutions (Waitlist 1), Amara Raja (Waitlist 2), Waaree Energies (Waitlist 3), JSW Neo Energy (Waitlist 4), and Lucas TVS (Waitlist 5).
As per the scheme’s guidelines, beneficiary firms must achieve a minimum of 25% domestic value addition, rising to 60% within five years. Companies are also required to invest Rs 225 crore per GWh for their allotted capacity within two years.
Reliance Industries, according to a recent report by Autocar Professional, expects to begin production at its upcoming battery Gigafactory in the second half of next year. The facility, which will have an annual capacity of 30 GWh, will start with assembling battery systems and packs, followed by cell manufacturing and chemical production.
Currently, India’s advanced chemistry cell manufacturing is still in its early stages. By the end of this decade, the country’s battery production capacity is expected to reach 150 GWh, with other companies like Amara Raja and GODI India also setting up gigafactories.
