Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has expressed its interest in setting up a Giga factory for manufacture of Advanced Chemistry Cells in India. BHEL has been supplying batteries for India’s space program for over 15 years and has recently set-up a Li-ion cell manufacturing facility for meeting the requirements for the space program.
“We are exploring possibilities of partnering with leading global OEMs of ACCs for setting up one such factory under the… Gol program and leverage our engineering and manufacturing experience, strategically located facilities and capabilities. A dedicated Make in India (MII) group is already functional within BHEL to steer and explore such opportunities,” said a BHEL release.
PLI Scheme for National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage
On 12th May, 2021, the Indian government approved a proposal by the Department of Heavy Industry (DHI) for implementation of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for ‘National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage’. India plans a manufacturing capacity of Fifty Giga Watt Hour (GWh) of ACC and 5 GWh of ‘Niche’ ACC with an outlay of Rs.18,100 Crore.
Under the PLI scheme, the government is expecting a direct Investment (Foreign and Domestic) of around Rs.45,000 Crore. The minimum plant capacity under the scheme is 5 GWh. There is a mandatory investment of Rs.225 Crore/GWh and 25% domestic value addition within 2 years. The PLI scheme has emphasis on high domestic value addition, 60% within 5 years, to reduce imports which is currently ~ Rs.20,000 Crore p.a. for battery and battery components. The disbursement of PLI will be over 5 years. There is higher incentive for higher specific energy density, cycle life battery cells & value addition. The ACC battery manufacturers are to be selected through a transparent competitive bidding process. There is a 5% provision for start-ups to encourage entrepreneurs. The PLI scheme will facilitate demand creation for EVs and battery storage in India. There is a separate window (5 GWh) for newer and niche cell technology giving impetus to R&D work in the field.
About BHEL
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), a 4 billion USD corporation, under DHI, is one among India’s largest engineering and manufacturing companies. BHEL boasts of 16 state-of-the-art manufacturing units spread across India with a land bank of over 14,000 acres, almost 20 million square feet of industrial covered space, employee strength of over 32,000 employees, including 10,000 engineers with qualifications & experience in cutting edge technologies and has been in existence for past 55 years. The company operates in a wide range of sectors like Power Generation (Thermal, Hydro, Nuclear, Gas) & Distribution, Transportation, Defence & Aerospace, etc. BHEL is one of the largest spenders on R&D in Indian engineering sector and has 14 Centres of Excellence and 5 specialised research institutes apart from collaborations with various research and educational institutes of eminence.