At a Coca-Cola factory on the outskirts of Chennai, southern India, a massive battery powers machinery day and night, replacing a diesel-powered generator. It is one of just a few places in India that uses electricity stored in batteries, which is a critical component in India’s energy shift away from dirty fuels.
The country’s lithium ion battery storage business, which may store electricity generated by wind turbines or solar panels for use when the sun does not shine or the wind does not blow, accounts for only 0.1% of global battery storage systems. However, battery storage is rapidly expanding, with around one-third of India’s total battery infrastructure coming online this year alone.
India now has approximately 100 megawatts of battery storage capacity, with an additional 3.3 gigawatts of sustainable energy storage coming from hydropower. The Indian government predicts that the country will require approximately 74 gigawatts of energy storage from batteries, hydropower, and nuclear energy by 2032, although experts believe the country will require closer to double that much to meet its energy requirements.
Some customers remain skeptical of employing battery technology for storage, and the storage systems can be perceived as more expensive than coal. The battery supply chain is also concentrated in China, making the industry exposed to geopolitical instability.
However, markets believe customers will not be cautious about batteries for long, as large Indian corporations have announced significant investments in the area. In January of this year, Reliance Industries announced plans to develop a 5,000-acre facility in Jamnagar, Gujarat. In March, Goodenough Energy announced plans to invest $53 million by 2027 in a 20 million kilowatt-hour battery facility in the northern area of Jammu and Kashmir.
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