Reliance, Hyundai, and M&M among the ten companies competing for PLI in the ACC scheme
Reliance New Energy Solar, Hyundai Global Motors Company, and Mahindra & Mahindra are among the ten companies that have bid for 130 Gwh of manufacturing capacity that the government proposes to award, indicating strong private sector interest in the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage.
With a budgetary commitment of Rs 18,100 crore, the bids submitted from both domestic and international investors are 2.6 times the 50 Gwh to be given for strengthening India’s manufacturing capacity.
On October 22, 2021, the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for bids under the ACC battery storage initiative, which was open for applications until January 14, 2022, and technical bids were opened on January 15, 2022. According to the regulations, the manufacturing plant must be established within two years, and the incentive would be paid out over a five-year period on sales of batteries made in India.
The PLI scheme for ACC, along with those for the automotive sector and FAME, is packaged with an incentive structure to encourage industry to promote new investments in indigenous supply chains and deep localization for battery manufacturing in India, allowing India to leapfrog to a more sustainable, advanced, and efficient electric vehicle (EV)-based system.
Other companies that have expressed interest in the programme include Ola Electric Mobility, Lucas-TVS, Amara Raja Batteries Limited, Exide Industries, Rajesh Exports, Larsen & Toubro, and India Power Corporation. The programme envisions an investment that will boost domestic manufacturing, facilitate battery storage demand creation for both EVs and stationary storage, and the development of a complete domestic supply chain. In addition, the government wants to increase foreign direct investment.
