Will India Succeed in Becoming a Battery Storage Manufacturing Superpower?

Turning India into a Battery Storage Powerhouse

In its recent Financial Budget announcement, the finance minister of India said that incentives would be provided to build large factories making solar cells, lithium battery storage and electric vehicles. The thinking in the top Indian policy making circles is that India has missed the solar manufacturing bus to China and cannot afford to miss the storage manufacturing bus as well. Given that there will be a huge demand for lithium battery storage from EVs and grid related requirements, it makes sense for India to put large Tesla like gigafactories making storage batteries.

Also, read Energy Storage Plus Solar Power Projects To Be The Future Of India’s Energy Industry

This would have multiple benefits such as reducing imports, improving energy security, creating local jobs, etc. It would also have spillover benefits in fostering innovation with the creation of a major storage ecosystem. Niti Aayog which is India’s central policy making body has been tasked with creating a roadmap and an implementation map for making India into a battery storage power. However, the government seems to have missed the fact that battery storage has already bypassed India. Countries like Korea, China, USA, and Japan are already far ahead in terms of R&D, manufacturing as well as demand. It would be tough for India to catch up to these countries especially as it does not have any technology to call its own. Moreover, raw materials such as cobalt and lithium are totally absent in India. It would have to import these materials which call into question whether India has any competitive advantage in making battery storage.

While there is no doubt that Electric Vehicles would see a huge market in India creating demand for batteries, does it make sense to focus on a part of the EV supply chain where India suffers from a major disadvantage? Would it not make sense to direct the limited incentives that the government gives to a part of the supply chain where India could be a major player. I don’t think that the Indian government has studied this area in detail and is committing billions of dollars in a venture which may turn out to be a major dud. Instead of battery storage, India could focus on the EV component industry such as making drivetrains, etc. as India is already home to a huge auto component industry. The country could also become a major base for making charging infrastructure given the maturity and scale of its electrical industry. Starting a new industry from scratch where foreign players already have a huge advantage does not make a lot of sense.