समाचार Samāchār · Tech & AI · 13 November 2026

22 bids for 10 GWh of grid batteries. India now needs cells made, not just awarded

Reliance, JSW, Amara Raja, Exide and 18 others bid for 10 GWh of battery cell capacity reserved for grid storage under the ₹18,100 crore PLI. The 40 GWh awarded earlier is still mostly on paper.

The Ministry of Heavy Industries has received 22 bids for 10 GWh of advanced chemistry cell manufacturing capacity under the production-linked incentive scheme. This tranche is reserved for grid-scale stationary storage. Technical bids were opened at the ministry on 11 November in front of the bidders. Selection runs in two stages on the Central Public Procurement Portal and scores both quality and cost.

The field is wide. Reliance Industries, JSW Neo Energy, Amara Raja Advanced Cell Technologies, Exide Energy Solutions and Waaree Energy Storage Solutions are in. So are renewable developers ACME Solar Holdings, Avaada Electro, ReNew Photovoltaics and Vikram Solar, along with Megha Engineering and Infrastructures. The request for proposals went out on 15 July. Bids closed on 10 November.

The scheme is not new. The Union Cabinet approved it in May 2021 with an outlay of ₹18,100 crore. Business Today reports that 40 GWh was awarded in earlier rounds and production has barely begun. Apart from Ola Cell Technologies, no beneficiary has set up cell manufacturing. No cell maker has yet received an incentive. Five years of अनुभव Anubhav should shape how this round is run.

The demand is real. Every gigawatt of solar India adds needs storage to serve the evening peak. Solar plus storage should come first, and the cells should be made in India for India and for the world. It is a good sign that solar developers are bidding. The buyers of batteries want to own the factories.

The test is not the number of bids. It is commissioning dates, local value addition and cells shipped. The ministry should publish milestones for every award, old and new, and hold each one to them.

What a founder takes from it: Storage is where India’s solar build-out turns into firm power. Founders in battery management, recycling, grid software and services should track who wins this round and when their lines start.