Table 3: Key policy initiatives in India

In India, energy storage technologies do not enjoy direct subsidies and financial incentives but coupling energy storage technologies with solar or wind may offer the projects the same benefits as offered to renewables such as wind and solar. Though, there has been a policy push towards renewables which would ultimately require a greater amount of flexibility to the Indian power grid. The government has set a target of 175 GW RE by 2022, staff paper on energy storage was introduced by Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), solar wind hybrid policy has been introduced and a couple of pilots have been demonstrated at distribution and transmission level. Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) has already floated tenders of RE projects, coupled with storage to supply round the clock and firm power. The major driving factor propelling the growth of the lithium-ion battery manufacturing industry in India is the government’s plan to boost electric mobility. The Indian government has envisioned the conversion of two- and three-wheelers into 100% electric by 2030. Consequently, the Department of Heavy Industry, Government of India launched Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME-India) Schemes (both Phase-1 & Phase-2) to provide budgetary support through demand incentives to create demand for EVs in the country, and major thrust is being given to electrification of public transport systems such as buses and 3-wheelers. To scale up the deployment of EVs through appropriate policy measures and an enabling electricityrelated regulatory framework, 15 States/ UTs have published their respective EV policies, and 20 States/ UTs so far have issued tariff orders for EV charging, as of September 2020.The key policy initiatives in India that have directly or indirectly impacted the markets of battery storage are listed in Table 3.

TABLE 3: Key policy initiatives in India Year Policy 2001 Battery (Management and Handling) Rules; amended in 2010 2009 MNRE subsidy for EVs 2012 National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 2014 National Smart Grid Mission 2014 Committee on Energy Storage and Hybrid Solutions 2014 Report on energy storage for ancillary services published 2015 FAME incentive scheme launched 2015 Smart Cities Mission 2016 Report on large-scale integration of renewable energy and deviation settlement mechanism 2016 Draft National Policy on Renewable Energy based Micro-grids and Mini-grids 2017 Staff paper on Introduction of Electricity Storage in India 2017 Formed the committee to create standards for battery energy storage systems 2018 National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy 2018 National Energy Storage Mission 2019 Phase-II of the FAME Scheme launched with an outlay of INR 10,000 Crores for three years 2020 MNRE Issued Guidelines for Procurement of Round the Clock Power 2020 Green term ahead market in electricity