Production of the first sof advanced chemistry cell batteries in India is likely to commence by January 2024, Union Minister Mahindra Nath Pandey said on Tuesday. In May 2021, the government approved the PLI (Production Linked Incentives) scheme for manufacturing ACC (Advanced Chemistry Cell) batteries at an estimated outlay of INR 18,100 crore.
ACCs are the new generation advanced energy storage technologies that can store electric energy, either as electrochemical or chemical energy and convert it back to electric energy as and when required.
“In December this year or by January next year, we will see the start of the manufacturing of the ACC batteries in the country,” the Union Minister of Heavy Industries said.
Pandey was speaking at the 63rd annual convention of the auto industry body SIAM here.
All the demand for the ACCs is currently being met through imports in India.
The minister said the government has been coming up with various policies like PLI and FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) to support the automobile industry.
He noted that the 25,938 crore PLI scheme for the auto sector has been received well by the industry.
Pandey said that after consulting with the industry, the government has extended the scheme by one year.
He said the government has added two more agencies for testing of vehicles and components — the Global Automotive Research Centre (GARC) in Chennai and National Automotive Test Tracks (NATRAX) in Madhya Pradesh.
As of now the tests are conducted only at the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), Pune, and International Centre for Automotive Technology (iCAT), Manesar (Haryana).
Earlier speaking at the event, SIAM President Vinod Aggarwal said the domestic auto industry was growing, though there was some stress at the entry-level two-wheelers and cars.
“The industry size today is INR 12.46 lakh crore, which was two years back stood at INR 7.5 lakh crore. This includes exports worth INR 3 lakh crore,” he said.
If the industry is able to resolve some of the entry-level problems, the growth would be much better, Aggarwal said.
