India needs to scale up battery storage alongside renewable energy: Experts

NEW DELHI: India needs to expand battery storage and grid infrastructure alongside renewable energy capacity to ensure reliable power supply as it moves towards its target of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030, experts said at an industry event.The country has crossed 300 GW of installed non-fossil fuel capacity, but integrating more renewable power into the grid will require investment in energy storage, domestic manufacturing and research, said Jai Asundi, executive director of the Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP).The discussions took place at the Renewable Energy India Expo, held alongside The Battery Show India and the Energy Storage Summit India in Greater Noida.Yogesh Mudras, managing director of Informa Markets in India, said renewable energy generation and grid storage must expand together as India’s clean energy market grows. “We have reached an execution phase where generation and grid storage must scale in tandem,” he said, adding that India’s renewable energy market was projected to reach 486 GW by 2030, while its battery storage sector was expected to cross $8.5 billion by 2031.Anandi Iyer, director of the Fraunhofer Office in India, said the world added around 800 GW of renewable energy capacity in 2025, while global battery storage deployment reached 108 GW, up 40% from the previous year. She said India and Germany could work together in battery research, power electronics and advanced engineering.Australia’s high commissioner to India, Philip Green, said the two countries could combine Australia’s critical mineral resources and solar technology with India’s manufacturing capabilities to strengthen clean energy supply chains. Australia produces more than half of the world’s lithium, he said.Scotland First Minister John Swinney said Scottish expertise and innovation could complement India’s manufacturing scale and market potential to support the clean energy transition.Manu Srivastav, additional chief secretary in Madhya Pradesh’s power and renewable energy department, said falling technology costs and economies of scale were making renewable energy increasingly competitive with conventional power.The three-day event, which opened on Thursday, has over 1,080 exhibitors and 1,400 brands, with participation from more than 10 countries.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.