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India’s 888 GWh storage target demands domestic production
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India will need 888 GWh of energy storage capacity by 2035-36 to support rising electricity demand and a renewable fleet that already exceeds 290 GW, industry speakers warned at IESA Chennai Connect 2026. As first reported by pv-magazine-india.com, panelists including Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala of IIT Madras and Bindu Madhavi of the India Energy Storage Alliance urged faster deployment of BESS and a stepped-up domestic manufacturing strategy. They argued policy, cell and system production, recycling and long-duration technologies must scale in parallel if grid reliability is to keep pace with variable wind and solar generation.
Energy storage will be one of the defining technologies of India’s energy transition.
Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Institute Professor at IIT Madras
Key takeaways
- India will need 888 GWh of energy storage capacity by 2035-36 to support rising demand and higher shares of renewables.
- Installed renewable capacity in India already exceeds 290 GW, creating near-term integration needs for storage.
- Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Institute Professor at IIT Madras, and Bindu Madhavi of the India Energy Storage Alliance were among speakers at IESA Chennai Connect 2026.
- Speakers called for domestic manufacturing across battery technologies, power electronics and the wider clean-energy supply chain.
Table of contents
A quantified need: 888 GWh by 2035-36
The conference set a clear planning target: India will need 888 GWh of energy storage capacity by 2035-36 to maintain reliability as wind and solar grow. That figure frames procurement, grid planning and the scale of manufacturing required to balance seasonal and daily variability across regions.
Meeting 888 GWh implies not only cell and pack production but also deployment of power conversion systems, battery management systems and project integration at utility, distribution and commercial scales. Planners must convert that aggregate capacity into regional procurement schedules, grid upgrades and financing plans to avoid bottlenecks.
Speakers noted that the 2035-36 target should feed into tenders and policy signals now so supply chains, skills and recycling capacity expand in step with demand rather than after shortages emerge.
Why domestic manufacturing across battery technologies matters
Panelists argued that relying on imported cells and modules leaves the power system exposed to supply shocks and cost swings. India must build suppliers at every stage, from raw materials and cells to BMS and system integration, if storage is to be affordable and secure at the scale envisaged.
Bindu Madhavi, senior director-policy and regulatory at the India Energy Storage Alliance, urged a broad industrial strategy: expand materials processing, scale cell lines, develop power-electronics manufacturing and create markets for second-life and recycling services. Without these elements, domestic buyers will face higher lead times and price risk.
Speakers used the phrase domestic manufacturing across battery technologies to capture the need for multiple chemistries, cell formats and downstream services rather than a single technology focus, and they called for procurement rules that reward local value creation.
Technology mix: sodium-ion, iron-air and long-duration options
Technical sessions emphasised that the power system will require a range of chemistries beyond lithium-ion. Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala told the conference that sodium-ion batteries and long-duration storage technologies, including iron-air, could play an important role in improving the grid's operational flexibility over the next five to seven years.
Long-duration options target multi-hour to multi-day storage needs that lithium-ion is not optimised for; adopting them alongside modular lithium systems helps match economics to use cases such as seasonal balancing or large industrial shifts. Scaling these alternatives requires targeted R&D, pilot projects and standards to move from lab to factory.
Manufacturers and system integrators at the summit discussed modular approaches that let developers choose the cheapest fit-for-purpose chemistry for each site while sharing common controls, safety protocols and recycling pathways.
| Item | Role in system | Deployment horizon |
|---|---|---|
| Lithium-ion BESS | Short-to-medium duration balancing, fast response | Immediate to 5 years |
| Sodium-ion batteries | Lower-cost cells for medium-duration needs | Near-term pilots (next 5 years) |
| Iron-air / LDES | Long-duration, seasonal balancing | Mid-term (5–7 years and beyond) |
Outlook: how this could play out
The case for
- A coherent industrial policy and procurement that rewards local content could unlock cell lines, BMS producers and power-electronics manufacturing at scale.
- Parallel pilots of sodium-ion and iron-air technologies would lower technical risk and give developers alternatives that match different duration needs.
The case against
- If policy signals and tenders lag, supply-chain bottlenecks and imported dependency could raise costs and delay deployments needed to meet grid targets.
- Insufficient investment in recycling and second-life markets would increase raw-material pressures and reduce the long-term economics of large-scale storage.
What to be careful about
- Global supply-chain disruption for precursor materials could raise costs and delay cell manufacture needed for the 2035-36 target.
- Delays in standardisation and certification for non-lithium chemistries could slow adoption of sodium-ion and iron-air at scale.
- Weak recycling and second-life infrastructure would increase landfill risk and reduce circularity for deployed BESS assets.
The bottom line
India’s 888 GWh planning target by 2035-36 reframes storage as a national industrial challenge as much as a grid one. Speakers at IESA Chennai Connect 2026 urged simultaneous scale-up of cell lines, system integration skills, power-electronics manufacturing and recycling. Achieving cost-competitive, reliable storage will depend on policy signals that align procurement, R&D and industrial incentives so manufacturers can invest with confidence. The session made clear that technology diversity — from lithium-ion to sodium-ion and iron-air — should be cultivated now so each application has a commercially viable option when needed.
What to watch
- Monitor government procurement roadmaps and tenders aiming to meet the 888 GWh of energy storage capacity by 2035-36.
- Watch for national policy measures to boost domestic manufacturing of cells and power electronics; no specific implementation date has been set.
Frequently asked questions
What does the 888 GWh target mean in practice?
The 888 GWh figure is an aggregate capacity need for India by 2035-36 to keep the grid reliable as renewables scale; meeting it requires cell production, system integration and supporting equipment such as BMS and PCS across utilities and commercial projects.
Which technologies will matter most for that capacity?
Speakers highlighted lithium-ion for short-duration balancing, sodium-ion for lower-cost medium-duration needs and iron-air or other long-duration solutions for multi-hour to seasonal storage.
Why is domestic manufacturing important?
Panelists including Bindu Madhavi argued that domestic manufacturing across battery technologies reduces exposure to import shocks, shortens lead times and captures value from materials to recycling within India.
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