Battery Storage (PLI-ACC)
The ₹18,100 Cr PLI for battery cells - who is building India's gigafactories, grid batteries and the materials inside a cell
What this is
- Demand is not the problem: EVs and grid storage need more cells than India can make.
- All three awardees missed the Dec 2024 milestone, so execution is the stock-picking question.
- Exide, Amara Raja and others build without PLI; materials stay >90% Chinese-processed.
Why now
- India imported ~₹41,667 Cr of Li-ion cells in FY26 (up 64%), ~84% from China.
- The ₹18,100 Cr, 50 GWh PLI has awarded 40 GWh, but only Ola's line runs and nothing is paid yet.
- The last 10 GWh, re-tendered for grid-storage cells, closed bids on 13 Oct 2026.
What to watch
- MHI decision on the 10 GWh grid-storage re-tender (bids closed 13 Oct 2026)
- First PLI-ACC incentive disbursement (Ola's revised schedule pays quarterly) and penalty settlements (Reliance, Rajesh Exports)
- MHI decision on Rajesh Exports' award after SEBI's Jun 2026 interim order
- Reliance Jamnagar 40 GWh phase-1 start-up
- Monthly Li-ion cell imports (commerce ministry data)
- BESS tender awards and VGF-backed commissioning (GUVNL, NTPC, state discoms)
- EFC and Cabinet approval of the reported ~₹13,000 Cr battery-components scheme
Major areas
The map groups the anatomy into these areas before you drop into individual components.
Grid battery storage (BESS)
Developers and utilities building battery energy storage on the grid, backed by viability-gap funding and storage-linked renewable tenders - now the fastest-growing buyer of cells.
EV demand
Car, two- and three-wheeler makers whose EVs need cells - mostly imported today, with Tata, Hyundai and Ola lining up local supply.
Packs & integration
Pack assemblers and BESS container makers that turn cells into modules, packs and grid containers with battery management systems.
Cell gigafactories
Plants that coat electrodes, assemble and form lithium-ion cells - the part of the chain the PLI-ACC pays for (and the one India has barely built).
Active materials (cathode & anode)
Cathode (LFP, NMC) and anode (graphite) powders - roughly two-thirds of a cell's cost, and almost entirely processed in China today.
Electrolyte, foils & separators
Electrolyte salts and solvents, binders, aluminium and copper current-collector foils and separator film - the smaller inputs where Indian chemical and metal companies are moving first.
Cell gigafactories (PLI-ACC)
The companies building lithium-ion cell plants in India - the three PLI-ACC awardees (Ola, Reliance, Rajesh Exports) and the battery makers going ahead without the incentive (Exide, Amara Raja, Tata's Agratas). Cells are the heart of the scheme: everything above them buys cells, everything below them sells into them.
Ola Electric Mobility
ListedElectric-scooter maker and PLI-ACC's largest awardee (20 GWh) - the only awardee with a running cell line, at its Krishnagiri gigafactory in Tamil Nadu, using cells in its own scooters
Reliance Industries
ListedConglomerate building a battery and BESS gigafactory at Jamnagar through Reliance New Energy Battery - 15 GWh of PLI-ACC awards (5 GWh in 2022, 10 GWh re-bid signed Feb 2025)
Rajesh Exports
ListedBengaluru gold refiner and jeweller (owner of Swiss refiner Valcambi) whose subsidiary ACC Energy Storage won a 5 GWh PLI-ACC award for a plant in Karnataka
Exide Industries
ListedIndia's largest lead-acid battery maker, building a 12 GWh lithium-ion cell plant at Devanahalli near Bengaluru through Exide Energy Solutions - without a PLI-ACC award - plus Li-ion packs
Amara Raja Energy & Mobility
ListedNo. 2 lead-acid battery maker building a lithium cell 'Giga Corridor' in Telangana through Amara Raja Advanced Cell Technologies, plus a BESS assembly plant
Agratas Energy Storage Solutions
UnlistedTata Group's battery-cell company, building a 20 GWh first phase at Sanand, Gujarat (and a gigafactory in Somerset, UK) - not a PLI-ACC awardee
Potential bottlenecks
- Cell technology (especially LFP) is held by Chinese makers, who restricted export of LFP and lithium-processing know-how in 2025Cell gigafactories
- Equipment, active materials and skilled process engineers are importedCell gigafactories
- Yield and scrap in the first years of a new lineCell gigafactories
- Lithium salts need very high purityElectrolyte, salts & binders
- Long qualification with cell makersElectrolyte, salts & binders
- Plant safety (Neogen's Dahej site was hit by a fire in Mar 2025)Electrolyte, salts & binders
- No domestic lithium refining yet (lithium sits in the critical-minerals policy)Cathode active material
- Process know-how; China restricted export of LFP cathode technology in 2025Cathode active material
- Needle coke and natural graphite supplyAnode graphite & conductive carbon
- Cheap power for graphitisationAnode graphite & conductive carbon
- Risk capital for first plants (Epsilon's founder calls it the biggest challenge)Anode graphite & conductive carbon
- Battery-grade copper foil not made in IndiaBattery foils & separators
- Separator know-how and equipmentBattery foils & separators
- Thickness and purity tolerancesBattery foils & separators
- Cells and containers mostly imported from ChinaGrid battery storage (BESS)
- Substation connectivity and transmission timingGrid battery storage (BESS)
- Very low winning tariffs leave thin margins if cell prices reboundGrid battery storage (BESS)
- Qualification of a new cell supplier takes 12-24 monthsEV makers (cell buyers)
- Chinese LFP cells remain cheaperEV makers (cell buyers)
- Rare-earth magnets for motors are a separate import choke point (see the rare-earth policy)EV makers (cell buyers)
- Imported cells set cost and supplyPacks, BMS & BESS containers
- Safety certification (BIS, AIS-156 for EVs)Packs, BMS & BESS containers
- BMS chips and power electronics importedPacks, BMS & BESS containers
Companies in this theme
30 companies, 26 listed. The 6 cell gigafactories (PLI-ACC) are listed above.
Waaree Energies
ListedIndia's largest solar-module maker moving into batteries through Waaree Energy Storage Solutions: BESS containers now, lithium cells next
Company page →Kabra Extrusiontechnik
ListedPlastic-extrusion machinery maker whose Battrixx division assembles lithium-ion packs and BMS for electric two- and three-wheelers
Company page →Tata AutoComp Systems
UnlistedTata group auto-components maker assembling EV battery packs through Tata AutoComp Gotion, a JV with China's Gotion High-Tech
Adani Green Energy
ListedRenewable developer running India's largest BESS at its Khavda renewable park in Gujarat
Company page →ACME Solar Holdings
ListedRenewable developer focused on firm and peak-power (FDRE) contracts that bundle solar with large battery storage
Company page →JSW Energy
ListedPower producer with a 5 GWh battery assembly plant in Pune and a growing BESS and pumped-storage book
Company page →IndiGrid Infrastructure Trust
ListedKKR-backed power-transmission InvIT that now owns standalone battery storage, contracted on long-term fixed payments
Company page →NTPC
ListedIndia's largest power utility and a central tendering agency for grid storage - allotted 5 GWh of the 30 GWh VGF tranche
Company page →Tata Power
ListedIntegrated utility building storage as an EPC contractor and developer, plus large pumped hydro
Company page →Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles
ListedIndia's largest electric-car maker (Nexon.ev, Punch.ev, Curvv.ev, Harrier.ev) and owner of JLR - anchor customer for Tata group's Agratas cells
Company page →Mahindra & Mahindra
ListedSUV and tractor maker whose electric SUVs (BE 6, XEV 9e) run on imported BYD Blade LFP cells
Company page →Hyundai Motor India
ListedNo. 2 carmaker in India, localising EV batteries with Exide Energy for its own and Kia's Indian EVs
Company page →TVS Motor Company
ListedTwo- and three-wheeler maker (iQube, King EV) and one of the largest electric-scooter sellers - a large buyer of imported cells
Company page →Bajaj Auto
ListedTwo- and three-wheeler maker (Chetak, electric autos) and a leading electric-scooter seller - a large cell buyer
Company page →Himadri Speciality Chemical
ListedKolkata coal-tar and carbon-black chemicals maker moving into LFP cathode and anode materials
Gujarat Fluorochemicals
ListedFluoropolymer major building a battery-materials business: LiPF6 salt, PVDF binder, electrolyte and LFP cathode
Neogen Chemicals
ListedBromine and lithium chemicals maker whose Neogen Ionics unit makes lithium electrolyte salts and electrolytes under a technology licence from Japan's MU Ionic Solutions
Company page →Acutaas Chemicals
ListedGujarat specialty chemicals company with a fast-growing Li-ion electrolyte-additives business
Company page →PCBL Chemical
ListedIndia's largest carbon-black maker, approved to make acetylene black - the conductive additive in Li-ion electrodes
Company page →HEG Advanced Materials (TACC anode)
ListedThe listed HEG company, renamed HEG Advanced Materials on 2 Sep 2026 after its demerger: it keeps TACC, which is building a 20,000 t a year synthetic graphite anode plant in Madhya Pradesh, while the graphite-electrode business moved to HEG Graphite Ltd
Company page →Epsilon Advanced Materials
UnlistedBengaluru-based battery-materials company running India's largest synthetic graphite anode plant and developing LFP cathode
Altmin
UnlistedHyderabad start-up developing LFP cathode material and lithium sourcing
Hindalco Industries
ListedAditya Birla Group's aluminium and copper major, running India's first battery-grade aluminium foil plant at Sambalpur, Odisha
Company page →TCPL Packaging
ListedFolding-carton and flexible packaging maker entering lithium-ion separator film
Company page →Common questions
Which listed companies are in India's Battery Storage (PLI-ACC) supply chain?
NextResearch maps 26 listed companies across 8 layers of the Battery Storage (PLI-ACC) supply chain. The largest with high exposure, by market cap as of 6 Nov 2026: Adani Green Energy (₹2.35L Cr); Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (₹1.08L Cr); Waaree Energies (₹70,204 Cr); Exide Industries (₹30,379 Cr); and Himadri Speciality Chemical (₹28,688 Cr).
What are the layers of the Battery Storage (PLI-ACC) supply chain?
8 layers: Cell gigafactories; Electrolyte, salts & binders; Cathode active material; Anode graphite & conductive carbon; Battery foils & separators; Grid battery storage (BESS); EV makers (cell buyers); and Packs, BMS & BESS containers.
Who are the end players in Battery Storage (PLI-ACC)?
In the Cell gigafactories layer: Reliance Industries, Exide Industries, Ola Electric Mobility, Amara Raja Energy & Mobility and Agratas Energy Storage Solutions (not NSE-listed). Also there, with low exposure: Rajesh Exports.
What are the bottlenecks in India's Battery Storage (PLI-ACC) supply chain?
Cell gigafactories: Cell technology (especially LFP) is held by Chinese makers, who restricted export of LFP and lithium-processing know-how in 2025. Electrolyte, salts & binders: Lithium salts need very high purity. Cathode active material: No domestic lithium refining yet (lithium sits in the critical-minerals policy). Anode graphite & conductive carbon: Needle coke and natural graphite supply. More by layer on this page.