The company will receive incentives totalling Rs 3,620 crore for this 10 GWh capacity, which is in addition to the 5 GWh capacity it was previously awarded.
Reliance Industries Ltd has successfully secured the bid for the remaining 10 GWh battery manufacturing capacity that was auctioned under the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme aimed at promoting advanced chemistry cell (ACC) battery manufacturing. The company is set to receive incentives amounting to Rs 3,620 crore for this 10 GWh capacity, which will be added to the 5 GWh capacity it was previously awarded.
Launched in 2021, the Rs 18,100-crore PLI scheme was designed to establish advanced chemistry cell manufacturing facilities in India with the goal of reaching a total manufacturing capacity of 50 GWh. The 10 GWh capacity won by Reliance is part of the unallocated 20 GWh capacity within the scheme, which became available after Hyundai Global Motors withdrew from the initial round of bidding.
In the first round of bidding, which concluded in March 2022, the government had awarded a combined 30 GWh capacity to Ola Cell Technologies Pvt Ltd, ACC Energy Storage Pvt Ltd, and Reliance New Energy Battery Storage Ltd.
Advanced chemistry cell batteries represent a new generation of storage technologies capable of storing electric energy as either electrochemical or chemical energy, converting it back to electricity when needed. These batteries are primarily used in electric mobility applications.
The government opened the bidding process for the 10 GWh capacity in January. In addition to Reliance Industries, six other companies—ACME Cleantech Solutions, Amara Raja Advanced Cell Technologies, Anvi Power Industries, JSW Neo Energy, Lucas TVS, and Waaree Energies—submitted bids, cumulatively proposing 70 GWh of capacity.
The online bidding process was conducted through a two-stage mechanism under the Quality and Cost Based Selection process via the Central Public Procurement portal. The bidders were ranked based on their combined technical and financial scores, with the remaining five shortlisted bidders placed on a waiting list according to their rankings.
The ministry stated that the companies 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).
As per the scheme guidelines, beneficiary firms are required to achieve a minimum domestic value addition of 25% and increase this to 60% within five years. Additionally, these firms must invest Rs 225 crore per GWh for the committed capacity within two years.
Reliance Industries plans to commence production at its upcoming battery Gigafactory in the latter half of next year. This plant, with an annual capacity of 30 GWh, will initially focus on assembling battery systems and packs, eventually expanding to cell manufacturing and chemical production.
Currently, advanced chemistry cell manufacturing is still in its early stages in India. The country’s battery manufacturing capacity is expected to reach 150 GWh by the end of the decade. In addition to the companies awarded under the scheme, other firms like Amara Raja and GODI India are also establishing gigafactories in the country.
