Ten companies submit bids under PLI scheme for ACC battery storage system

The list includes Reliance New Energy Solar Limited, Hyundai Global Motors Company Limited, Ola Electric Mobility Private Limited, Lucas-TVS Limited, Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, Amara Raja Batteries Limited, Exide Industries Limited, Rajesh Exports Limited, Larsen & Toubro Limited and India Power Corporation Limited, the ministry stated.

The heavy industry ministry had, in October last year, released the Request for Proposal (RFP) and set 14 January 2022 as the deadline for receiving bids. The technical bids were opened on Saturday, 15 January.

The companies selected under the incentive scheme will be required to set up manufacturing facility within a period of two years. The incentive will be disbursed thereafter over a period of five years on sale of batteries manufactured in India.

"A total of 10 bids with capacity ~ 130 GWh received under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage." an official statement released by the ministry said.

“The scheme received an encouraging response from local as well as global investors as bids received is 2.6 times the manufacturing capacity to be awarded, ie, 50 GWh,” the ministry statement added.

In May 2021, the Modi government approved the PLI scheme (called 'National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage’ ) for achieving manufacturing capacity of 50 Giga Watt Hour (GWh) of ACC with the aim of enhancing India’s manufacturing apabilities with a budgetary outlay of Rs18,100 crore.

Under the initiative, the government seeks to encourage greater domestic value addition, while at the same time ensure that the cost of battery manufacturing in India is globally competitive.

The union government hopes that the scheme will attract investment in domestic manufacturing and facilitate battery storage demand creation for both electric vehicles and stationary storage.

ACC PLI scheme is part of government's plan to reduce import of crude-oil to a significant extent and increase the share of renewable energy at the national grid level.

The programme is designed to be technology agnostic allowing the beneficiary firm to choose suitable advanced technology and the corresponding plant and machinery, raw material and other intermediate goods for setting up cell manufacturing facility to cater to any application.