Utility Scale Storage

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is set to begin production at its upcoming battery gigafactory in 2026, with an initial annual capacity of 40 GWh. The facility will later be modularly scaled up to 100 GWh per annum, announced Anant Ambani, executive director of RIL, during the company’s annual general meeting recently.

Researchers at CSIR-Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute thermally encapsulated organic redox molecules within multiwalled carbon nanotubes to form a stable and flowable slurry for use as high-capacity catholytes in aqueous zinc flow batteries. The assembled batteries using these catholytes exhibited excellent cycling stability at an applied current density of 1.0 mA cm⁻², with a Coulombic efficiency of 99%.

The lowest green ammonia price discovered so far in the SIGHT Mode 2A auctions is just 10.1% higher than the current grey ammonia prices in India (US$515 per MT). Notably, the low cost of Rs 49.75 per kg in the Mode 2A auctions is almost half of a similar green ammonia auction conducted by H2Global in 2024, suggesting an imminent price parity between grey and green ammonia.

Transmission Corp. of Andhra Pradesh Ltd (APTRANSCO) has invited bids for setting up a 2 GWh (1 GW x 2 hours) standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) in Andhra Pradesh. The project will be supported by viability gap funding (VGF) through the Power System Development Fund.

Sunsure Energy has secured the agreement to supply power from a 125 MW/500 MWh standalone battery energy storage system (BESS), to be developed on a build-own-operate basis. NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN) will act as the intermediary procurer, with Uttar Pradesh Power Corp. Ltd (UPPCL) as the end procurer.

As India accelerates its energy transition and modernises its grid infrastructure, the energy and utility sector will move beyond its traditional functionality. Cybersecurity, once a back-office IT concern, is now at the front, especially for Operational Technology (OT).

The New South Wales-based lithium ion battery company Energy Renaissance has gone into administration, just months after celebrating a decade in business.

Australian renewable energy developer ACEnergy has tapped China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) to supply 3 GWh of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Australia.

Subsidiaries of Gentari and Gamuda will develop 1.5 GW of solar with battery storage in Malaysia to supply hyperscale data centers under the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS), supporting the country’s push to expand clean energy and meet rising tech-sector demand.

India is already investing in energy storage solutions such as batteries and pumped storage to enable greater integration of renewable energy into the grid. However, this alone may not be sufficient. It’s time to also look at demand management to enable dovetail between renewable energy generation and demand.