India's Battery Storage Factories Reach 86 GWh, but Cells Remain the Missing Link, Mercom Report Finds
A new Mercom India report puts the country's downstream battery storage manufacturing capacity at about 86 GWh, but finds cells make up only about 8% of operational capacity — a gap illustrated by SolarEra's new 5 GWh Pune integration plant, which will rely on imported cells.
India is building battery-storage factories at speed. It is not yet building the part that matters most. That is the central finding of a new Energy Storage Manufacturing Ecosystem Report from research firm Mercom India, released on 22–23 October 2026, which puts the country's downstream battery storage manufacturing capacity at about 86 GWh.
"Downstream" covers battery packs, containers and integrated energy storage systems — the assembly and integration steps. The cells inside them, which account for most of a battery's value and technology, are still largely imported.
The numbers
Mercom's report sets out a stark split:
- Downstream dominates: downstream manufacturing makes up roughly 92% of India's operational battery storage manufacturing capacity; cell manufacturing accounts for about 8%.
- A large cell pipeline: identified battery cell manufacturing capacity — operational, under construction and announced — totalled about 110 GWh as of 30 September 2026.
- Most of it is not running yet: only 21.6% of India's combined operational and planned battery storage manufacturing capacity is operational.
- Geography: Gujarat accounts for 51% of the capacity under construction, followed by Maharashtra at 20%.
- New entrants: new entrants hold about 53% of identified capacity, and existing manufacturers about 47%.
- PLI progress: of the projects receiving active support under the production-linked incentive scheme for advanced chemistry cells (ACC), 6.4 GWh is operational and 28.6 GWh is under construction.
Mercom says the gap between cell and downstream capacity highlights India's continued dependence on imported battery cells, materials and specialised equipment. Its CEO said the real challenge will be converting announced capacity into stable commercial production.
A typical new entrant: SolarEra in Pune
The same week brought an example of the kind of downstream capacity the report describes. SolarEra Green Renewables, a Pune-based renewable energy EPC company, announced plans for a 5 GWh-a-year BESS manufacturing and integration facility in the Talegaon Industrial Area near Pune, Maharashtra.
- Investment: about ₹250 crore.
- Site: a 180,000 sq ft industrial facility the company says it has secured.
- Timeline: commissioning targeted for July 2027.
- Technology: the plant will integrate storage systems using externally sourced cells, combined with SolarEra's own energy management system (EMS).
- Customers: SolarEra's own renewable projects, as well as utility-scale and commercial and industrial clients.
It is a sensible business: storage demand is surging, integration adds value, and an in-house EMS is where a company can differentiate. But it also illustrates Mercom's point. The cells — the electrochemistry — come from elsewhere.
Why the cell gap matters
Battery storage is becoming central to India's power system. As solar and wind take a larger share of generation, the grid needs storage to shift daytime solar into the evening peak and to keep frequency stable. Regulators have moved to require storage alongside new renewable projects, and tenders for standalone storage have multiplied.
If India meets that demand with imported cells, a large share of the value — and the strategic dependence — sits overseas, mostly in China, which dominates global cell, cathode and anode production. That is the logic behind the ₹18,100 crore PLI-ACC scheme approved in 2021, which aimed to build 50 GWh of domestic advanced-cell capacity. Mercom's figures show that programme is well behind its original ambition, with 6.4 GWh operating.
Building cells is far harder than assembling packs. It requires ultra-clean dry rooms, precise electrode coating and formation processes, and secure supplies of lithium, graphite and other materials — plus years of yield learning before costs become competitive. The 110 GWh cell pipeline is encouraging, but most of it is announced or under construction rather than producing.
What to watch
The coming two years will decide whether India's storage industry stays an assembly business or moves up the value chain. Key signals will be:
- How many of the under-construction cell plants in Gujarat and elsewhere reach stable commercial output.
- Whether domestic-content requirements in storage tenders push integrators like SolarEra towards Indian-made cells.
- Progress on upstream materials — cathode, anode and electrolyte — without which cell plants will simply move the import dependence one step back.
For now, 86 GWh of downstream capacity is a real industrial achievement. Mercom's report is a reminder that the hardest part is still ahead.
Sources
- Mercom India: India's Downstream Battery Storage Manufacturing Capacity Reaches 86 GWh — https://www.mercomindia.com/indias-downstream-battery-storage-manufacturing-capacity-reaches-86-gwh
- pv magazine India: India's downstream battery storage manufacturing capacity reaches 86 GWh — http://www.pv-magazine-india.com/2026/10/23/indias-downstream-battery-storage-manufacturing-capacity-reaches-86-gwh-mercom/
- ESS News: India has 86 GWh of operational downstream battery manufacturing capacity — https://www.ess-news.com/2026/10/23/india-has-86-gwh-of-operational-downstream-battery-manufacturing-capacity/
- Mercom India: SolarEra Plans 5 GWh Battery Storage Manufacturing Facility in Pune — https://www.mercomindia.com/solarera-plans-5-gwh-battery-storage-manufacturing-facility-in-pune
- Saur Energy: Energy Storage Brief — SolarEra Green BESS forays — https://www.saurenergy.com/solar-energy-news/ess-brief-by-bessxchange-rwandas-floating-solar-tender-dutch-regulator-solarera-green-bess-forays-12706208