The Union Cabinet approved on November 4 a viability gap funding scheme for 92 GWh of storage, with domestic content mandated for battery systems.

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• The scheme provides Rs 14,500 crore of support for FY 2026-27 to 2030-31.
• It targets 92 GWh of grid-scale storage capacity that is yet to be commissioned.
• The capacity splits into 60 GWh of pumped storage, 30 GWh of battery energy storage systems and 2 GWh of emerging technologies.
• Total investment is estimated at Rs 97,600 crore.
• The new capacity would equal about 170 percent of the grid-scale storage available today.
• It is meant to help meet the 411 GWh storage requirement projected for 2031-32.
• A mandatory domestic content requirement applies to battery storage to promote indigenous manufacturing.
• On the same day, the Cabinet approved a Rs 2,814 crore capex support scheme for critical mineral processing, covering FY 2026-27 to 2030-31.
• That scheme targets processing of lithium and nickel ores into high-purity compounds, with cobalt as a by-product of nickel.
• It offers a 30 percent capital subsidy for four plants: two lithium plants capped at Rs 500 crore each and two nickel plants capped at Rs 900 crore each.
• Plants are selected through a two-stage process of technical qualification and financial bidding.
• The scheme supports electric mobility, battery storage, electronics, defence and speciality steel.

Tags: EnergyStorage, ViabilityGapFunding, CriticalMinerals