New Delhi, Nov 14 (KNN) India will soon introduce an incentive program with an estimated value of 80 billion rupees (USD 960 million) to foster its electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem, reported ET.

People aware of the matter told ET that the program will invite bids from interested parties, signaling a strategic push towards enhancing the domestic production of electric vehicle batteries.

The program will require winning bidders to set up advanced chemistry battery plants with a total output of 20 gigawatt hour, said the people, declining to be named as the plans are private. The government will seek bids from potential investors next month, they said.

Companies including Korea’s LG Energy Solution Ltd., and local heavyweights such as Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Amara Raja Energy & Mobility Ltd., Exide Industries Ltd. and Larsen & Toubro Ltd. showed interest during a consultation meeting held with government officials, the people said. 

The government will give incentives to companies over a period of five years on the sale of batteries manufactured locally. 

The demand for batteries is expected to rise to 260 gigawatt hour by 2030, catering to a growing market of electric vehicles, grid-scale energy storage and consumer electronics, according to a report published by research center RMI India and the government’s think tank Nitu Aayog.

(KNN Bureau)