Amara Raja To Participate In Cell Manufacturing PLI Tender For Grid-Scale Storage

NEW DELHI - Amara Raja Energy & Mobility plans to participate in the government's fresh tender for 10 GWh of Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) manufacturing capacity earmarked for grid-scale energy storage under the PLI scheme, as the battery maker steps up investments in stationary storage and builds a 10 GWh gigafactory.

“We are looking at the tender documents and then depending on the qualification criteria that they have put in. So we will be participating in that tender while we are now weighing our options in terms of how to go about it. But it is an opportunity that we will definitely try to participate in,” Amara Raja’s management told investors during its first-quarter earnings call.

The Ministry of Heavy Industries has invited bids for setting up gigawatt-scale ACC manufacturing facilities with a cumulative capacity of 10 GWh, with the capacity earmarked for grid-scale stationary storage applications under the PLI scheme. The tender documents were made available in July, with bids due by October 13 and technical bids scheduled to open on October 14.

The fresh 10 GWh allocation is part of the government's plan to build 50 GWh of domestic ACC manufacturing capacity. Of the targeted capacity, 40 GWh has already been awarded, while the remaining 10 GWh is being offered for grid-scale stationary storage.

Amara Raja had participated in the PLI scheme earlier but did not succeed in securing an allocation. The company is now assessing the qualification criteria for the new tender before finalising its approach.

The move comes as Amara Raja is shifting greater focus towards energy storage, alongside its longer-term plans for electric mobility. The company said demand from energy storage is being supported by the growing requirement for renewable power and grid storage.

Amara Raja has already started construction of a 10 GWh BESS gigafactory. The facility will support both grid and commercial and industrial applications and is expected to begin operations in the third quarter of financial year 2027.

Amara Raja is also developing a separate gigafactory for lithium-ion cells at Divitipally. The company plans to start operations with a 2 GWh NMC-based capacity in the second quarter of calendar year 2027 and scale the facility to 16 GWh by financial year 2030, with both NMC and LFP chemistries planned.

Management said the company would now prioritise energy storage cells as demand from the segment could develop faster than demand for standard electric vehicle cells.

“So while the milestone for a given capacity can definitely change, our broad strategic direction of going behind, let us say, a 15-20% kind of a market share on the available potential of lithium cells still remains intact,” management said.

Amara Raja has invested Rs 1,900 crore in its new energy subsidiary, Amara Raja Advanced Cell Technologies, to date. Its customer qualification plant was commissioned in July, while the BESS 10 GWh gigafactory has entered construction.

The government's new 10 GWh allocation is aimed at supporting rising energy storage requirements linked to renewable energy deployment, strengthening domestic manufacturing and reducing dependence on imported cells.