Govt to hold stakeholder talks for ACC battery PLI scheme on July 24

The Centre is planning to hold stakeholder consultations on July 24 for fresh bids in order to fill the 20 Gigawatt hour (GWh) slot, which fell vacant after one of the initial candidates who qualified, Hyundai Global Motors, exited from the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for advanced chemistry cell (ACC) battery storage, Business Standard has learnt.

“The new bids proposal is in the final stages. Industry consultations will happen on July 24,” said top government officials, adding, “The fresh tender is likely in the first half of next month.”

The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) decided to invite fresh bids in the PLI instead of awarding it to the players on the waitlist in order to accommodate  FREEa maximum number of players and avoid the entry of players like Hyundai Global Motors.

“The idea is to make the process more robust so no player can play foul like Hyundai Global Motors. Moreover, we also want to accommodate as many players as possible,” said an official.

Hyundai Global Motors had backed out of the scheme after South Korean automobile major Hyundai Motor India Ltd asserted it had nothing to do with the company, which had bid for the scheme.

Sources say that the plan is to provide incentives of up to a total of 5 GWh of capacity. So far, in the scheme, a beneficiary firm has to commit a minimum of 5 GWh of ACCs manufacturing facility which can go up to a maximum of 20 GWh.

The government had initially declared Hyundai Global Motors as one of the four eligible players out of the nine who applied for the PLI scheme. But it was forced to re-examine its offer after the South Korean automobile giant Hyundai Motor Company issued a public statement saying it had no link with Hyundai Global Motors and the latter was not authorised to use the Hyundai trademark and logo.

Out of the four companies that were declared bid winners, Rajesh Exports quoted an interest and got 5 GWh capacity, followed by Hyundai Global Motors which was rewarded 20 GWh of capacity.

The third player was Ola Electric which was awarded another 20 GWh and the fourth was Reliance New Energy Solar which wanted 20 GWh but received the remaining 5 GWh.

If the government decides to give it to the candidates on the waitlist, it would go to just two players. So, for instance, Reliance which was on the waitlist would get another 15 GWh.

Mahindra & Mahindra, which was on the waitlist for 15 GWh of capacity would have received the remaining 5 GWh. The others on the wait list included Exide Batteries, Larsen & Toubro, Amara Raja Batteries, and India Power Corporation.

Under the PLI scheme, the government offered incentives of Rs 18,100 crore for companies to build ACC batteries with a total capacity of 50 GWh.

The government aims to bring on board not just domestic players but international players like Panasonic Energy, which makes batteries for Tesla. “If Panasonic Energy wants to bid for ACC PLI then they are also welcome to do so,” said another official, adding, “We have already proposed this to Panasonic Energy.”

ACCs are the new generation advanced energy 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.

India does not make any cells for the most used lithium-ion batteries. They are all imported, leading to fears of an increase in India’s import bill.      

According to the government, the PLI scheme for advanced cell chemistry will save over Rs 2-2.5 trillion on account of the oil import bill. It envisages direct investments of over Rs 45,000 crore from the players.

While the scheme is for seven years, the subsidy is for five years and kicks in after two years during which time the eligible companies have to set up their manufacturing units.

4 of 9 companies that applied for PLI were declared winners:

• Ola Electric: 20 GW capacity
• Hyundai Global Motors: 20 GWh capacity
• Rajesh Exports: 5 GWh capacity
• Reliance: 5 GWh capacity (had earlier applied for 20 GWh)