At least two global technology leaders could set up Gigafactories to manufacture lithium-ion cells in India in the next couple of years, and most major Indian firms are setting up energy storage divisions, according to the head of the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA).

Orders for distributed energy storage and the rise of an electric mobility market have kick-started a battery assembly push in India.

India’s first grid-scale solar-plus-storage tender has been held up by the extreme drop in the country’s solar PV prices this year, according to Rahul Walawalkar, executive director of the Indian Energy Storage Alliance.

India’s biggest utility, NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation) is seeking bidders to add a 6MW / 24MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) to a 17MW PV plant in Manglutan, South Andaman.

Flow battery manufacturer ViZn Energy Systems has won a contract to provide a 1MWh zinc-iron flow battery to India’s majority network operator and utility Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL).

Sydney-based lead-acid energy storage specialist Ecoult has secured AU$4.1 million (US$3.13 million) recoupable funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to develop and commericalise its UltraBattery products.

Dispatches from the India Rooftop Solar Congress 2017 in New Delhi. Indian rooftop solar will reach an inflection point in 2020 when battery-based storage becomes affordable enough to drive the PV segment, according to a new report by global analysis firm Crisil Research.

India’s first grid-scale solar-plus-storage tender from Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has received very strong interest with a total of 13 developers submitting bids.

What is thought to be India’s first grid-scale energy storage array will be developed and delivered by a joint partnership between system provider AES and Mitsubishi Corporation, it was announced.

Microgrids—distributed systems of localised generation, distribution network and load—are being increasingly deployed particularly in rural areas of emerging and under-developed countries to achieve energy access. However, a “fragmented and unorganised” sector still faces significant challenges, writes Harsh Thacker.