For two decades India’s battery industry lived downstream of the supply chain — importing cells and assembling them into packs. In 2026 that is changing faster than most equipment buyers expected. A single government programme, the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cells (ACC), is pulling tens of gigawatt-hours of cell capacity onto Indian soil, and the construction, commissioning and qualification activity is now a procurement story in its own right. For anyone supplying cell, module and pack assembly and test lines, the Indian market has moved from “interesting later” to “specifying now.”
Why 2026 Is the Inflection Year for Indian Cell Manufacturing
The numbers tell the story. The PLI ACC scheme was approved in May 2021 with a budgetary outlay of ₹18,100 crore (about US$2.2 billion) and a target of 50 GWh of domestic advanced cell capacity by 2027–28. As of mid-2026, 40 GWh has been awarded to four beneficiaries, and on 15 July 2026 the Ministry of Heavy Industries invited global bids for the final 10 GWh tranche — reserved specifically for grid-scale stationary storage, with pre-bid on 29 July and bids closing on 13 October 2026. When that round closes, the entire 50 GWh allocation will be spoken for.
The pace of money and jobs is real but early: beneficiaries had cumulatively invested ₹5,180 crore and created 1,277 direct jobs as of 31 May 2026, yet no firm has claimed a single rupee of incentive. That is by design — payouts are performance-linked and only trigger after a plant is commissioned and hits domestic value-addition thresholds — but it also confirms most plants are still in the build-and-commission phase. That is precisely when assembly and test equipment is being specified, quoted and installed.
| PLI ACC awardee | Allocated capacity | Location | Lead chemistry / focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ola Cell Technologies | 20 GWh | Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu | Cylindrical (4680) for EV traction; ~2.5 GWh operating, scaling toward 6 GWh in 2026 |
| Reliance New Energy Battery Ltd | 10 GWh | Jamnagar, Gujarat | LFP for utility-scale BESS & mobility; 30 GWh site in commissioning |
| Reliance New Energy Battery Storage Ltd | 5 GWh | Gujarat | LFP cells & packs; part of the Jamnagar giga-complex |
| ACC Energy Storage (Rajesh Exports JV) | 5 GWh | Karnataka | Under review; allocation may be reallocated if milestones slip |
| Final 10 GWh tranche (open bid) | 10 GWh | Pan-India | Reserved for grid-scale stationary storage; bids close 13 Oct 2026 |
The Flagship Plants: Jamnagar, Krishnagiri, Sanand and Beyond
The headline project is Reliance’s Jamnagar gigafactory in Gujarat, with an initial 30 GWh annual capacity that Chairman Mukesh Ambani says will start production in the second half of 2026. It begins by assembling Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and packs, then integrates backward into cell manufacturing, focusing on LFP chemistry for utility-scale and mobility use. A 50 MWh pilot cell line (via subsidiary Lithium Werks) is already running, and Reliance is industrializing sodium-ion at megawatt scale next year.
Ola Cell Technologies leads on volume: 20 GWh awarded, with the only commercially operating PLI line so far — about 2.5 GWh running, scaling toward 6 GWh in 2026 — built around 4680-format cylindrical cells. Tata’s Agratas plant at Sanand, Gujarat is widely reported at ~40 GWh, serving both EV and stationary storage. Outside the scheme, Amara Raja is investing ₹9,500 crore toward 16 GWh by 2030–31 (first 2 GWh targeted for June 2027) and Exide is building a 12 GWh lithium-ion cell facility in phases near Bengaluru. Add it up and India’s total battery manufacturing capacity is projected to reach roughly 150 GWh by the end of the decade.
Formats & Equipment: Matching the Line to the Cell
What makes this build-out a concrete equipment opportunity is that the plants are not building one cell — they are building three distinct formats for three distinct markets. The assembly line you specify depends entirely on which format a plant runs:
- Cylindrical (EV traction). Ola’s 4680 programme demands high-speed cylindrical welding, sorting and module winding — the same cell architecture global EV makers standardized on.
- Prismatic LFP (grid storage). The bulk of India’s stationary and BESS capacity runs large-format prismatic LFP, which needs stacking, laser busbar welding and pressure-sensitive module assembly.
- Pouch (high-power niches). Some mobility and specialty programmes use pouch cells, which need laminate-compatible夹持, laser and ultrasonic welding.
| Cell format (real model) | Key dimensions | Typical chemistry | Primary application |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla 4680 (cylindrical) | 46 × 80 mm | NMC / NMC+Si (high energy) | EV traction — e.g. Ola Krishnagiri line |
| EVE LF314 / 314Ah (prismatic) | 71 × 174 × 207 mm, two M6 terminal studs | LFP | Grid storage & stationary BESS |
| 50Ah NCM power pouch | Aluminium-laminate pouch, no rigid case | NCM (high power) | Power tools, niche EV, specialty packs |
The Import Math: Why Pack Assembly Is the Near-Term Opening
For all the cell ambition, India still imports the overwhelming majority of cells. In 2026, 85–90% of cell-level supply is imported, with China accounting for 84% of India’s lithium-ion cell imports in FY26. Those imports surged 64% year-on-year to ₹41,667 crore in FY26, and landed cost runs US$95–130 per kWh. The tariff structure tilts the opportunity: a 5% basic customs duty on cells versus 20% on modules and systems gives domestic pack and module assemblers a real cost edge.
That is why the most immediate, repeatable equipment demand is at the module and pack level. Domestic module/pack assembly capacity is already an estimated 15–20 GWh in 2026, far ahead of the 3–5 GWh of actual cell capacity (<10% of demand). Every importer of cells still needs to weld, stack, test and BMS-integrate them into packs — and that is exactly where NEGUP’s assembly and testing lines fit.
What the Build-Out Means for Equipment Buyers
If you are specifying or upgrading lines for an Indian gigafactory, super-factory or pack house in 2026, the data points to a clear capability checklist:
- Format-flexible welding. Plan for both cylindrical (4680-style) laser welding and prismatic (EVE LF314-class) busbar laser welding — most Indian players run a mix.
- Stacking and pressure fixtures for large prismatic LFP. Grid storage dominates the near-term pipeline, so prismatic stacking and compression fixtures are the priority volume.
- Formation and aging capacity. As cells begin flowing domestically, formation, grading and aging lines become the bottleneck — spec them early.
- Integrated test and BMS. BMS remains partially import-dependent in India; a line that bundles cell testing with BMS integration and data logging is a differentiator.
- Structured, exportable records. With PLI domestic value-addition thresholds rising to 60%, machine-readable per-unit traceability is no longer optional.