Reliance Industries, Ola Electric to get incentives under $2.4B battery scheme

Reliance Industries and Ola Electric are among four companies that have won bids to receive incentives as part India’s Rs 18,100 crore Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme to boost local battery cell production, news agency Reuters reported quoting multiple sources.




A total of 10 companies had submitted bids totalling about 130 gigawatt hours (Gwh), of which four have won, the report said. Hyundai Motors and Indian jewellery maker Rajesh Exports have also won the government tenders that aim to incentivise companies to make battery cells locally. Ola Electric and Hyundai will get incentives for 20 Gwh capacity while Reliance and Rajesh Exports have won incentives for 5 Gwh, the news agency said in its report.

In total, ten companies had bid for these tenders, including vehicle manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra, battery makers Amara Raja and Exide, Lucas-TVS Limited, India Power Corporation Limited. and engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro. The scheme, which was approved last May by the Ministry of Heavy Industries, aims to achieve a local cell manufacturing capacity of 50GWh of ACC in India.

Under the scheme, the manufacturing facility would have to be set up within a period of two years. The incentive will be disbursed thereafter over a period of five years on sale of batteries manufactured in India.

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“The scheme received an encouraging response from local as well as global investors as bids received is 2.6 times the manufacturing capacity to be awarded i.e. 50 Gwh,” the heavy industries ministry had stated. According to the government, the incentive structure would encourage industry to promote fresh investments in indigenous supply chain/ deep localisation for battery manufacturing in the country.