Distributed Storage

Only around 50% of standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) projects analyzed in India demonstrate positive project economics under modeled assumptions, according to Mercom India Research’s newly released LCOS and Bidding Trends in Indian Energy Storage Projects report. The projects assessed were auctioned between July and November 2025.

Every additional EV, wind turbine, transmission line, or storage system intensifies pressure on supply chains that are already concentrated and geopolitically sensitive. Competing solely on mining is neither sufficient nor sustainable.

Global solar growth is flattening in major markets as oversupply from China and India drives prices down and shifts competition from sheer volume to execution, policy alignment, and system integration. Across the U.S., Europe, and China, energy storage is becoming essential for project viability, making PV-plus-storage and strong EPC partnerships the new basis for winning projects in 2026 and beyond.

Ola Electric has rolled out Ola Shakti, a residential battery energy storage system (BESS), from its gigafactory in the Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu. Powered by Ola Electric’s indigenous 4680 Bharat Cells, Ola Shakti is India’s first residential BESS to be fully designed, engineered, and manufactured domestically.

By 2050, sodium-ion batteries with fast learning rates could deliver storage at 11–14 €/MWh – cheaper than lithium-ion at 16–22 €/MWh – while also offering higher energy-to-power ratios and high cycle durability, a new research finds.

Startups are rewriting the narrative of India’s environmental challenge by building a bridge between air quality restoration and renewable energy expansion—a synergy that promises to fundamentally reshape how India confronts both crises simultaneously.

The GWh-scale long-duration energy storage project is expected to reduce curtailment in Xinjiang, a region of China with high solar and wind generation, and transmission bottlenecks. The flow battery installation is co-located with a PV plant.

While 2025 was marked by an unprecedented 102 GWh of energy storage tenders, 2026 will see projects awarded since mid-2023 finally materialize into commissioned assets, in line with typical project timelines of 18–24 months.

Waaree Energy Storage Solutions has raised INR 1,003 crore to support the development of a 20 GWh lithium-ion cell and battery pack manufacturing facility.

India’s Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has released draft guidelines for the implementation of a Battery Pack Aadhaar system—an indigenous digital identification and data storage mechanism designed to ensure end-to-end lifecycle traceability of batteries, particularly those used in electric vehicles (EVs).