NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The Indian capital is preparing to host the Commonwealth Games. The Indian government’s $2.4 billion battery program has awarded contracts to Reliance Industries and the Softbank Group-backed Ola Electric, according to four persons familiar with the matter.
Earlier this year, the Indian government completed a scheme to incentivize enterprises to manufacture battery cells in the country as part of its efforts to develop a domestic supply chain for clean transportation and renewable energy storage to fulfill its decarbonization objectives.
The proposal for the implementation of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme ‘National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage’ was accepted by India’s federal cabinet (NPACC).
The government has allocated INR 18,100 crore (US$2.49 billion) for the plan, which aims to build local manufacturing capacity of 50-Gigawatt Hour (GWh) of ACC and five GWh of Niche ACC.
According to the sources, ten firms filed bids totaling around 130-gigawatt hours (Gwh), with four of them winning the contract. Requests for feedback from Reliance and Ola did not get a response right away.
Reliance and Rajesh Exports did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Hyundai Global could not immediately be reached for comment.
An Ola spokesperson did not comment on whether it has won the bid but referred Reuters to an announcement made on Wednesday on its local battery program (manufacturing plans). Ola Electric said yesterday it has appointed Prabhakar Patil, the former chief of LG Chem Power, to its board, and has plans to set up 50 Gwh of storage capacity.
Battery cell manufacturing is dominated by a handful of Asian companies, including CATL (300750. SZ), LG Energy Solutions, and Panasonic (6752.T), which also export to Indian companies. The government wants domestic production and plans to establish a total of 50 GWh of battery storage capacity over five years.
Ten companies submitted bids to manufacture a total of about 130 Gwh of storage capacity. These include automaker Mahindra & Mahindra (MAHM.NS), battery makers Amara Raja (AMAR.NS) and Exide Industries (EXID.NS), and engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (LART.NS).
Published by: Aditya Andharia
Edited By : Kritika Kashyap
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