“India must focus on domestic manufacturing across battery technologies,” say industry experts at IESA Connect

India will need 888 GWh of energy storage capacity by 2035-36 to meet rising electricity demand and maintain grid reliability as the share of renewable energy in the power mix increases. With the country’s installed renewable energy capacity already exceeding 290 GW, industry experts say stronger energy storage deployment and domestic manufacturing will be critical to integrating variable renewable generation into the grid.

At the recently concluded India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) Chennai Connect 2026, industry experts urged the government to accelerate research, manufacturing and deployment of indigenous battery energy storage systems (BESS) across India.

“Energy storage will be one of the defining technologies of India’s energy transition. Renewable energy must stay at the forefront, but it needs to be supported by storage to build a stronger, more reliable, and increasingly affordable power system,” said Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Institute Professor at IIT Madras.

Jhunjhunwala said technologies such as sodium-ion batteries and long-duration energy storage solutions, including iron-air batteries, could play an increasingly important role in renewable energy integration and grid flexibility over the next five to seven years.

 “India must focus on domestic manufacturing across battery technologies, power electronics, and the clean-energy supply chain to ensure long-term energy security. The next phase is about building a stronger, smarter, and more resilient electricity system, not just adding renewable capacity,” he added.

Sessions at the summit highlighted how Indian innovation and manufacturing could help address these gaps.

Bindu Madhavi, senior director-policy and regulatory, India Energy Storage Alliance, stressed the need to build the technology, manufacturing capacity, grid infrastructure and market ecosystem fast enough to keep pace with the nation’s renewable energy ambition.

“Storage must no longer be viewed as an add-on to renewable energy, but as an integral part of how India plans, builds and operates its future power system. Our ambition must go beyond batteries to build a globally competitive energy storage ecosystem spanning materials and cells, BMS, PCS, system integration, long-duration storage, grid technologies, recycling and second-life applications,” she said. “The next decade will determine whether India becomes simply a major storage market or a global hub for storage technology, manufacturing and innovation.”

Technical and business sessions at the summit underscored the need for a holistic, indigenous battery value chain, from modular storage solutions and second-life applications to supply chain resilience, recycling, and advanced procurement strategies for commercial and industrial consumers.