Ministry of Heavy Industries Outlines Plans to Expand Incentives for Battery Cells and Recycling

The Ministry of Heavy Industries has announced plans to expand its policy support and fiscal incentive frameworks for advanced chemistry cells and battery recycling as the domestic energy storage sector matures. Speaking at the India Energy Storage Week conference in New Delhi, Vijay Mittal, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Heavy Industries, stated that the ministry is assessing proposals to extend existing production-linked incentive systems to encompass a broader network of market operators and clean-technology partners.

To address localized material loop constraints, the ministry has partnered with the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister and the European Union to establish dedicated pilot projects focused on battery material recycling. Government officials noted that the regulatory oversight for the sector has evolved from initial electric vehicle demand generation to a comprehensive lifecycle approach covering cell technology, component supply ecosystems, localized refining, and raw material mining.

The ministry is currently evaluating industry requests for targeted policies focused on niche battery chemistries alongside structured proposals to introduce a framework similar to the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers utilized in the solar sector. Concurrently, the Ministry of Mines has introduced independent financial schemes to subsidize the domestic refining of critical battery minerals to reduce reliance on primary material imports.

Industry representatives at the event highlighted that localized cell performance indicators are showing steady improvements relative to imported platforms. Foundries and material suppliers noted that the introduction of clear procurement tenders and standardized component policies will be essential to sustain domestic capital investments as manufacturing operations scale toward establishing gigafactories and grid-scale storage networks over the next decade.