Li-ion cells

Ratul Puri, Chairman of Hindustan Power, speaks to pv magazine about the key challenges in scaling renewable energy deployment, the growing role of battery storage and carbon markets, and Hindustan Power’s strategy in supporting India’s clean energy transition.

LICO Materials has committed to invest INR 240 crore in its Karnataka facility that will produce battery-grade critical minerals from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries. The project qualifies for a 20% capital expenditure (CapEx) subsidy and a multi-year operational expenditure (OpEx) subsidy linked to incremental commercial sales through FY 2030-31.

For years, the battery energy storage (BESS) story has followed a familiar script: costs fall, deployment accelerates, economics improve. Even when cell costs rose and system prices briefly flattened during the 2021-22 lithium price spike, the narrative largely held. Paola Perez Peña, senior principal analyst at S&P Global Energy, examines why the latest jump in lithium prices has only had limited impacts on overall BESS costs so far.

A new briefing note by Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) finds that India’s imports of key energy transition minerals and their compounds are highly concentrated, underscoring significant supply risks and the importance of diversification to enhance supply security.

State that aligns policies—and target specific segments of the EV and battery value chain—based on their comparative advantage, can better attract investments, deepen local value addition and create integrated manufacturing ecosystems.

Burden shifting refers to reducing environmental impact of one category causing increase in another; or reducing harm in one geography while concentrating it in another. On both dimensions, the evidence of burden shifting of the lithium-ion supply chain is evident and should not be ignored.

Amara Raja Energy & Mobility has surpassed 1 GWh of cumulative lithium-based energy storage deployment in India’s telecom sector, marking a significant milestone for distributed lithium storage adoption in the country. The company said its battery systems have been installed across more than 50,000 telecom sites nationwide.

NavPrakriti, a lithium-ion battery recycling and refurbishment company, has announced plans to invest over INR 100 crore to establish a greenfield critical minerals refining facility in Odisha. This facility is expected to become operational by FY 2028–29.

The new Anker Solix Solarbank Max AC steps up from balcony-scale storage with a 3.5 kW inverter, plug-in capabilities for do-it-yourself (DIY) ease of installation, and expandability to 42 kWh, priced from €2,229.

Agratas, the Tata group’s global battery business, has reported progress on its Sanand battery facility in India, with the steel frame now complete. Production is expected to commence in 2027.