India’s energy storage tender pipeline has surged to 260 GWh, while the country’s installed lithium-ion cell manufacturing capacity remains at only around 2 GWh, exposing a widening gap between project demand and domestic manufacturing depth as battery storage becomes central to India’s renewable energy transition.
According to the India BESS Market Review released by India Energy Storage Alliance and Customized Energy Solutions at India Energy Storage Week 2026, India will require 888 GWh of energy storage system capacity by 2035-36, a massive jump from the current 1-GWh scale.
Exponential BESS Capacity Surge
The report shows that India’s installed battery energy storage system capacity rose 11-fold in just six months, from 0.78 GWh in December 2025 to 8.7 GWh in H1 2026. The country is now on track to cross 10 GWh of installed BESS capacity by the end of the year.
The sharp rise in tendering indicates how quickly storage is moving from pilot projects to grid-scale deployment. In H1 2026 alone, 47 GWh of ESS tenders were floated, taking the total tender pipeline to 260 GWh. So far, 18 BESS projects have been commissioned, with 70% of the capacity addition in H1 2026 coming from merchant BESS installations.
“IESW 2026 is more than an industry summit; it’s a testament to how far India has come on its clean energy journey. The 888 GWh target by 2035-36 signals a new era where energy storage is at the centre of our energy ambitions,” said Debmalya Sen, President of IESA.
Supply Chain Mismatch
The domestic manufacturing base is expected to expand, but the current gap remains significant. India’s lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing capacity is around 2 GWh, while announced targets stand at nearly 110 GWh by 2030. Cell and pack-to-container capacity is expected to reach 180-200 GWh by 2030.
“The true measure of success is not just how many gigawatts we install, but how much renewable energy we can actually deliver and utilise,” said Tanya Singhal, Vice President, Country Head, India, Global Energy Alliance.
Industry executives said storage will determine how much renewable electricity India can reliably supply to the grid.
“We believe solar plus battery energy storage is the way forward,” said Nitin Bhatia, CEO, Radiance Renewables.
Venugopal Rao Maddisetty, Chairman and Managing Director, Pace Digitek, said, “Energy storage is now indispensable national infrastructure, enabling renewable energy to become dispatchable, stabilising the grid, and enhancing resilience.”
The three-day IESW 2026 at Yashobhoomi, New Delhi, has brought together over 200 exhibitors, more than 10,000 industry leaders and delegates from 15 countries.