Reliance Industries Ltd secured the bid for the remaining 10 GWh battery manufacturing capacity auctioned under the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for advanced chemistry cell (ACC) battery manufacturing. The company will get incentives worth Rs 3,620 crore for this 10 GWh capacity and it is in addition to the 5 GWh capacity it was awarded earlier.
The Rs 18,100-crore-PLI scheme was launched in 2021 to set up advanced chemistry cell manufacturing facilities in India with a target of achieving 50GWh manufacturing capacity. The 10 GWh capacity is part of the unallocated 20 GWh capacity in the scheme after Hyundai Global Motors pulled out from the first round of bidding.
The government earlier awarded 30GWh capacity to Ola Cell Technologies Pvt Ltd, ACC Energy Storage Pvt Ltd and Reliance New Energy Battery Storage Ltd in the first round of bidding, which concluded in March 2022.
Advanced chemistry cell batteries are a new generation of advanced storage technologies that can store electric energy either as electrochemical or as chemical energy and convert it back to electric energy as and when required. It is largely used in electric mobility.
The government had opened the bids for the 10 Gwh capacity in January. Apart from Reliance Industries, six companies -ACME Cleantech Solutions, Amara Raja Advanced Cell Technologies, Anvi Power Industries, JSW Neo Energy, Lucas TVS and Waaree Energies – submitted bids for a cumulative capacity of 70 GWh.
The bidding process was held online through a two-stage process, under the Quality and Cost Based Selection mechanism through the Central Public Procurement portal. The bidders were ranked based on their combined technical and financial scores, and the remaining five shortlisted bidders are put on the waiting list as per their ranking.
“Bidders who were waitlisted under the Program are: ACME Cleantech Solutions Private Limited (Waitlist 1), Amara Raja Advanced Cell Technologies Private Limited (Waitlist 2), Waaree Energies Limited (Waitlist 3), JSW Neo Energy Limited(Waitlist 4), and Lucas TVS Limited(Waitlist 5),” the ministry said.
According to the scheme guidelines, the beneficiary firm has to ensure achieving a domestic value addition of at least 25% and increase it to 60% within five years. The firms will also have to mandatorily invest Rs 225 crore per GWh for committed capacity within two years.
Autocar Professional recently reported that Reliance Industries expects to start production at its upcoming battery Gigafactory in the second half of next year. The plant, which will have an annual capacity of 30 GWh, will initially assemble battery systems and packs, later expanding to cell manufacturing and chemical production.
Currently, advanced chemistry cell manufacturing is at a nascent stage in the country. India’s battery manufacturing capacity is likely to reach 150 GWh by the end of this decade. Apart from the companies that were awarded in the scheme, companies like Amara Raja, GODI India are also setting up gigafactories in India.
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