India To Reopen Bids for Advanced Chemistry Cell Manufacturing PLI Scheme

The Indian government is set to reopen bidding for the Advanced Chemistry Cells (ACC) production-linked incentives (PLI) scheme. The process will commence with a stakeholder consultation that will be held on July 24, 2023 to gather insights and recommendations prior to accepting any bids. The second round of bidding is being held for the balance 20GWh capacity currently unused from the Rs 18,100 crore PLI scheme for establishing a local battery cell manufacturing capacity of 50GWh in the country.

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The re-opening of bidding will allows potential applicants to submit bids for establishing a domestic manufacturing facility for advanced chemistry cells. Those with successful bids will qualify for incentives under the ACC PLI scheme.

ACCs find use in the battery packs designed for electric vehicles. (Representational image)

The original round of bidding for the scheme was held through late 2021 and into early 2022. The process ended with four companies being selected for the scheme - Ola Electric and Hyundai Global Motors Co. Ltd, both bidding for 20 GWh capacity each, and Reliance New Energy Solar and Rajesh Exports who received approval for 5 GWh each. This took total capacity to the full 50 GWh.

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Hyundai Global Motors, however, were subsequently withdrawn from the scheme after Hyundai clarified that the entity bidding had no relation to the Hyundai Motor Company or its India entity. As a result, final allocations stood at 30 GWh.

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Advanced Chemistry Cells are cutting-edge energy storage technologies capable of storing electric energy as electrochemical or chemical energy and converting it back as needed. The technology currently finds extensive use in electric vehicles, solar rooftops, consumer electronics and more.