New Delhi, Nov 15 (FN Bureau) The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) has secured interest and response from around 100 participants spanning about 20 companies to its request for proposal inviting bids for a total manufacturing capacity of ACC battery storage of 50 Giga Watt Hour (GWh) with an outlay of Rs 18,100 crore. The RFP was released under the ACC Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme on 22 October, 2021 following which the ministry organised a pre-bid conference on 12 November attended by prospective bidders both in person and virtually. The ACCs are the new generation advance storage technologies that can store electric energy either as electrochemical or as chemical energy and convert it back to electric energy as and when required. The strong response is linked to the business potential of dominant battery technologies which will control some of the world’s largest growth sectors. Consumer electronics, electric vehicles, advanced electricity grids, solar roof top etc are major battery consuming sectors and expected to achieve robust sales growth in the coming years.
The bidding will be held online through a transparent two-stage process, under the Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS) mechanism. Presentations were made in the conference on the terms and conditions, technical details of ACC manufacturing and various incentives and opportunities to promote ACC battery manufacturing in the country. Key features of the selection process include satisfying the eligibility criteria, transparent bidding process, full flexibility in innovation for ACC battery manufacturing, optimised payment structures, promoting self-reliant India through domestic value addition and setting up of ACC manufacturing facilities. While several companies have already started investing in battery packs, the capacities of such facilities are much smaller than the global averages and there is negligible investment in manufacturing, along with value addition, of ACCs in India. All the demand of the ACCs is currently being met through imports in India. The National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage is aimed at reducing import dependence and strengthening the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.