Centre plans financial support for long-duration energy storage tech
What's the story
India is working on a policy and financial support framework to promote long-duration energy storage (LDES) technologies. The move is part of the government's 'India Battery Storage Vision 2047' initiative. The Ministry of Power and the Ministry of Heavy Industries are jointly developing this scheme, which is expected to be launched by FY28 under the power ministry's administrative control.
Support measures
Interest subvention support to be provided
The government is considering a viability gap funding (VGF) mechanism for LDES, as well as interest subvention support. These measures are aimed at improving liquidity access and accelerating the adoption of these technologies. An official told Mint that long-duration storage is critical for integrating renewable energy efficiently, adding that "thereby achieving energy transition in the true sense."
Technological potential
LDES can provide power for 8 hours or more
Unlike battery energy storage systems that last for one to four hours, LDES technologies can provide power for eight hours or more. These include pumped hydro storage, flow batteries, compressed air energy storage, and thermal storage systems. However, high costs and lower technological maturity compared to lithium-ion battery systems have slowed their adoption so far.
Capacity growth
Storage infrastructure has not kept pace with growth
In the last five years, India has added 178.88GW of renewable energy capacity, taking clean energy's share in total installed power capacity to 51.5%. However, the storage infrastructure has not kept pace with this growth. The Central Electricity Authority's National Electricity Plan 2023 estimates that India will need around 47GWh of battery storage capacity by FY27 but only 795MWh has been installed so far.