However, the journey is fraught with challenges. Limited domestic manufacturing capacity and reliance on imports have left industry leaders urging the government to introduce targeted measures in the Union Budget 2025 to address these bottlenecks.
Sriram Ramakrishnan, Business Head of Energy Systems at Reliance New Energy, said, “We have a mandate to reach 500 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030, but we’re only deploying 25 gigawatts annually against the required 60 gigawatts. To accelerate, incentivising battery energy storage is critical. The government’s battery PLI scheme was a good start, but India needs a bigger push to manufacture advanced chemistry cells (ACC) and the complete supply chain. Otherwise, we risk becoming an import-reliant country.”
A significant obstacle to India’s renewable ambitions is price competitiveness. With 99% of the nation’s battery materials currently sourced from China, the sector remains susceptible to global supply chain disruptions.
Vikram Handa, Managing Director of Epsilon Group, pointed out the need for policy-driven support for local manufacturing. “Policy encourages storage adoption, but it must be price-competitive. The ACC PLI scheme has helped, but today, 99% of battery materials come from China, which is a huge risk. We need policies that support local manufacturing of these materials. Subsidies and investments in this segment are crucial. A ₹9,000 crore PLI scheme for battery manufacturing has been discussed, and we hope it is announced in the budget,” he said.
