NEW DELHI:
Reliance Industries, South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co and automaker Mahindra & Mahindra are among the companies that have made bids for the $2.4 billion battery plan, two sources told Reuters.
India last year completed an incentive program to encourage companies to invest in local battery production as it aims to establish a domestic clean transport supply chain and build renewable energy storage.
Friday is the last day to submit technical bids. Softbank Group-backed Ola Electric, engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro and battery makers Amara Raja and Exide have also submitted bids, the sources said.
None of the companies named by the sources immediately responded to requests for comment. India aims to achieve a total of 50 gigawatt hours (Gwh) of battery storage capacity over five years, which is expected to generate a direct investment of approximately $6 billion.
To qualify for the incentives, companies must set up at least 5 Gwh of storage capacity and meet certain local content requirements, all of which require a minimum investment of more than $850 million.
About 10 companies have submitted bids for a total of nearly 100 Gwh, the sources said. India also encouraged global companies such as Tesla Inc, Samsung, LG Energy, Northvolt and Panasonic to invest.
Clean car technology is an important part of India’s strategy to reduce pollution in major cities and reduce dependence on oil. But electric vehicles (EVs) currently make up a fraction of total sales in the country, mainly because of their high price because batteries are imported.
The South Asian country wants electric cars to make up 30 percent of private car sales by 2030 and for electric motorcycles and scooters to make up 40 percent of those sales, boosting demand for batteries, which currently make up about 35 to 40 percent of the market. total car costs.
(This story was not edited by DailyExpertNews staff and was generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)