India’s battery storage industry is experiencing rapid growth, with significant potential to support the country’s transition to clean energy. Currently, India’s lithium-ion battery storage capacity makes up only 0.1% of global systems, but it’s expanding quickly, with a third of the country’s total battery infrastructure coming online this year alone.
The use of batteries to store electricity generated by renewable sources, such as wind and solar, is becoming popular, though it still constitutes a small fraction of global battery storage systems. Despite its modest share, India’s battery storage sector is expanding rapidly, with a significant portion of its infrastructure coming online this year.
Image Courtesy: World-Energy-org
The Indian government estimates a need for 74 gigawatts of energy storage from batteries, hydro power, and nuclear energy by 2032. However, experts suggest the actual requirement might be nearly double that amount to meet India’s growing energy demands.
Several factors are driving this growth:
- Increasing energy needs: India’s electricity demand grew by 7% last year and is expected to grow by at least 6% annually for the next three years. This is due to population growth and increased use of air conditioning in response to extreme heat fueled by climate change.
- Business investments: Major Indian companies are investing heavily in battery technology. Reliance Industries plans to build a 5,000-acre factory in Gujarat, while Goodenough Energy will invest $53 million to set up a battery factory in Jammu and Kashmir.
- Government support: The Indian government has announced a $452 million effort to support an additional four gigawatts of battery storage by 2031.
- Decreasing costs: Global battery costs are declining faster than expected, making energy storage systems more competitive with both coal and other clean energy sources.
Despite these positive developments, challenges remain:
1. Customer wariness: Some customers are still hesitant to adopt battery technology for storage.
2. Perceived costs: Battery storage systems can be seen as more expensive than coal, although experts argue this is a misconception.
3. Supply chain concentration: The battery supply chain is largely concentrated in China, making the sector vulnerable to geopolitical issues.
4. Coal subsidies: The Indian government still provides subsidies for coal plants, making coal-generated electricity cheaper for some utility companies.
Experts suggest several strategies to accelerate the adoption of battery storage:
1. Ramping up renewables alongside storage capacity.
2. Making battery storage sites more flexible and accessible to the national energy grid.
3. Implementing supportive government policies, such as incentives for clean energy storage in the upcoming national budget.
As India’s energy needs continue to grow rapidly, experts emphasize the importance of quadrupling renewable energy deployment to meet demand. With the right policies and investments, battery storage could play a crucial role in supporting India’s clean energy transition and meeting its increasing energy demands sustainably.
