Waaree Energy Storage raises ₹1,003 crore to set up 20 GWh lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant

Waaree Energy Storage Services Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of clean-energy firm Waaree Energies Ltd, has raised ₹1,003 crore as part of the ₹10,000-crore capital expenditure planned to set up a 20-gigawatt-hour lithium-ion battery and battery pack manufacturing facility, it said in a statement on Monday.

“With these strategic resources, we will fast-track the commissioning of our 20GWh cells and battery pack facility, strengthen domestic supply chains, and contribute to the growth of India’s energy storage capacity,” said Ankit Doshi, director, Waaree Energy Storage Services Pvt. Ltd, in the company’s statement.

Doshi said the initiative not only supports national sustainable energy goals but also enhances local manufacturing, employment, and technological innovation in the storage sector.

The plant, once set up, will produce batteries and battery packs for use in all sizes of grid-scale storage systems and electric vehicles (EVs).

“With this investment, Waaree Group is rapidly evolving into a fully integrated energy transition player, spanning solar modules, inverters, batteries, energy storage systems, and emerging clean energy technologies,” the statement said.

Rising demand

To be sure, India is entirely reliant on imports for its battery usage, with imports of Li-ion cells rising to $3 billion in 2024-25 from $1.8 billion in 2021-22.

Meanwhile, the country’s energy storage demand is set to rise exponentially to nearly three terawatt-hours (more than 3,000GWh) by 2047, from the current energy storage capacity of about 490MWh, Mint reported on 27 November.

Tendering of battery energy storage systems (BESS) capacity has risen dramatically, from 4GWh in 2023 to 60GWh in 2025, according to the India Energy Storage Alliance’s (IESA) 2025 annual report on BESS.

The report added that at least 10 states, including Assam, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh, have now rolled out policy interventions or targets for BESS capacity.

The rapid advancements in the BESS sector come even as the government’s plan to incentivize 10GWh of ESS capacity under the ₹18,100-crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for advanced chemistry cells remains unawarded.

Under the 2021 scheme, a total of 40GWh of capacity, out of the total 50GWh, has been awarded to three battery makers: Ola Electric, Reliance Industries, and Rajesh Exports.

“Integration of BESS with renewable energy projects is important for grid stability and reliability as renewable energy penetration increases. Energy storage investments have risen dramatically from just 1% of deal volume in 2017 to 9% by 2024, with lithium-ion batteries dominating,” said a FICCI-EY report on critical technologies, published in September 2025.

BESS supports grid flexibility and reliability by enabling frequency regulation, voltage support, peak shaving, and renewable energy time-shifting to address the intermittency challenges associated with solar and wind generation, the report added.