The Ministry of Heavy Industries on Monday said the pre-bid conference for prospective bidders for the PLI scheme for ACC battery storage received wide participation. The pre-bid meeting was held on November 12.

In October, the Ministry released an RFP, inviting bidders for a total manufacturing capacity of ACC (Advanced Chemistry Cell) battery storage of 50 Giga Watt Hour (Gwh) with an outlay of ₹ 18,100 crore.

ACCs are the new generation advanced 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 major users include consumer electronics, electric vehicles, advanced electricity grids, and the solar rooftop segment all of which are expected to achieve robust growth in the coming years.

“The pre-bid conference received wide participation and interest from bidders both in person and virtually with around 100 participants from about 20 companies. Presentations were made on the terms and conditions, technical details of ACC manufacturing and various incentives and opportunities to promote ACC battery manufacturing in the country,” the official statement said.

Two-stage process

The Ministry said that online bidding will be done through a “transparent” two-stage process under the Quality and Cost-Based Selection mechanism.

“While several companies have already started investing in battery packs, though the capacities of these facilities are too small when compared to global averages, there still 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 will reduce import dependence. It will support the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative,” the statement added.