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Reliance New Energy Signs Agreement Under ACC PLI Program; 10 GWh Capacity Allocated

The Ministry of Heavy Industries has formalized a program agreement with Reliance New Energy Battery, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, for the allocation of 10 GWh capacity under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) manufacturing. With this latest agreement, a total of 40 GWh capacity has now been assigned to four firms, out of the total 50 GWh capacity planned under the program.

The initial bidding process for the ACC Energy Storage PLI scheme concluded in March 2022, awarding a cumulative 50 GWh capacity to Ola Electric Mobility (20 GWh), Hyundai Global Motors (20 GWh), Reliance New Energy (5 GWh), and Rajesh Exports (5 GWh). However, Hyundai later withdrew, leaving 20 GWh unallocated. The remaining three firms signed the program agreement in August 2022.

To allocate the vacant capacity, the Ministry issued a fresh tender in April last year, inviting bids for 10 GWh. This tender received a strong response, with bids totaling 70 GWh submitted by leading industry players, including ACME Cleantech Solutions, Amara Raja Advanced Cell Technologies, Anvi Power Industries (Gensol Group), JSW Neo Energy, Reliance Industries, Lucas TVS, and Waaree Energies. The tender was backed by a budget of Rs3620 Crore.

The PLI scheme for ACC manufacturing, which was approved in May 2021, is technology-agnostic and has been allocated a total budget of Rs18100 Crore to establish 50 GWh of manufacturing capacity in the country. Under the program guidelines, selected manufacturers must commit to setting up an ACC production facility with a minimum value addition of 25% within two years from the appointed date and at least 60% within five years. Additionally, they must establish a manufacturing capacity ranging between 5 GWh and 10 GWh within five years, following which companies will be ranked based on their technical scores.

The financial incentives under the scheme will be disbursed once the committed production capacity and value addition targets are met, and sales of ACC units commence. The subsidies will be released over a five-year period in quarterly installments, as per the agreement between the government and the selected firms.
br> This initiative is expected to bolster India’s energy storage ecosystem and accelerate the country's transition towards clean and sustainable energy solutions.