"Reliance Industries and JSW Neo Energy Compete for 10 GWh ACC Battery PLI"

The Ministry of Heavy Industries announced on Tuesday that it has received bids from seven companies for the re-bidding of the 10-gigawatt-hour (GWh) tranche of the Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) manufacturing production-linked incentive (PLI). The seven bidders, listed in alphabetical order, include ACME Cleantech Solutions, Amara Raja Advanced Cell Technologies, Anvi Power Industries, JSW Neo Energy, Reliance Industries, Lucas TVS, and Waaree Energies. Together, these companies represent a cumulative capacity of 70 GWh.

This re-auctioning process was initiated after a controversy involving Hyundai Global Motors, which had been awarded 20 GWh of capacity during the initial bidding process but had to withdraw following a public statement by South Korea's Hyundai Motor Company. The statement, issued in August 2022, declared that Hyundai Global Motors had no affiliation with Hyundai Motor Company and was not authorized to use the Hyundai trademark or logo.

The original round of ACC PLI bidding concluded in March 2022, with three companies securing a total capacity of 30 GWh. The program agreement with these selected firms was signed in July 2022. However, the total targeted capacity for the auction was 50 GWh, leading to the need for re-bidding for the remaining 20 GWh after Hyundai Global Motors' disqualification. The Ministry had announced this re-auctioning in January, with a pre-bid meeting held on February 12, and the deadline for submitting applications was set for Monday. The technical bids were then opened on Tuesday.

Of the four companies awarded capacity in the initial round, Rajesh Exports secured 5 GWh, Ola Electric was awarded 20 GWh, and Reliance New Energy Solar received 5 GWh, despite expressing interest in 20 GWh. Reliance Industries, now among the current bidders, aims to secure an additional 10 GWh of capacity through this re-bidding process.

The re-bid PLI scheme has a maximum budgetary outlay of Rs 3,620 crore, and the 10 GWh capacity will be awarded out of the original 20 GWh intended for Hyundai Global Motors. Advanced Chemistry Cells are crucial for various industries requiring high-capacity and high-efficiency electrochemical energy storage, such as electronics, electric vehicles, and renewable energy systems.

The Indian Cabinet approved the technology-agnostic PLI scheme for the National Programme on ACC Battery Storage in May 2021, with a budgetary outlay of Rs 18,100 crore to achieve a manufacturing capacity of 50 GWh of ACCs. This scheme aims to boost the country's manufacturing of high-capacity energy storage cells to support the growing demand for electric vehicles and renewable energy solutions.

BS