EV fires, supply chain concerns have govt look at ₹500 cr allocation for battery testing, certification, R&D

Given the infirm nature of wind and solar power–it is generated only when the wind blows and the sun shines–BESS can help store energy and feed electricity to the grid any time in a 24-hour cycle.

The allocation is expected to go towards both setting up National BESS Testing and Safety Centers under National Accreditation Board Ltd (NABL) or the Bureau of Indian Standards and creating certification centres to certify prototypes for advanced chemistry cells. Battery-pack level testing which is done in the case of electric vehicles would also be supported through the allocation.

Further, tie-ups for R&D programmes are expected to be promoted between the industry, national laboratories, and Indian Institutes of Technology, or IITs, through multi-year grants.

This likely government push comes in the backdrop of India requiring battery storage capacity of about 175 GWh by 2032 up from around 700 MWh as of 31 December, 2025. Industry lobby group India Energy Storage Alliance expects capacity to climb sharply to 5 GWh in 2026. Despite such ambitious targets, India does not yet have dedicated BESS testing and prototype centres in the country.

There's also a safety angle driving the need for such testing: there have been several instances of overheating and fire in electric vehicles. Testing and certification infrastructure can help maintain standards and assuage concerns over the supply chain of such batteries. India’s tropical climate and hot weather in most parts of the country makes batteries made with global standards often unsustainable.

"A part of the ₹500 crore can also come through the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund. With the growing battery storage capacity requirement and plans to indigenize the supply chain, national level testing and certification facilities would be important," said the first person cited earlier asking not to be identified.

To be sure, the government takes a final decision on several proposals closer to the Budget presentation date which falls on 1 February.

In September last year, the ministry of new and renewable energy issued draft guidelines for testing and approval of batteries. The guidelines provide chemistry-specific construction requirements, including for lithium-ion batteries, lead-acid batteries, and nickel-cadmium batteries, among others.

Queries mailed to the union ministries of heavy industries, new and renewable energy, and finance on Thursday remained unanswered till press time.

The China overhang

Domestic testing is key as supply chain concerns also persist in this space as the battery and the required component ecosystem is dominated by Chinese makers. EV charging equipment makers are already facing challenges in making crucial parts such as connectors and battery management systems locally. Mint has earlier reported, citing experts and industry executives, that reliance on Chinese-made EV charger components could leave vehicles and infrastructure vulnerable to cyber threats.

Indian entities that assemble battery systems mostly send them to China for testing, according to industry stakeholders.

Testing gains significance as India doubles down on so-called over energy storage. Estimates tote up an investment of ₹4.79 trillion by 2032, as the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has forecast a requirement of 411.4 GWh energy storage systems by then including 236.22 GWh of BESS and 175.18 GWh of pumped storage projects (PSP). Mint earlier reported that the ministry of heavy industries is working on a roadmap to meet a cumulative BESS capacity of nearly 3 terawatt-hours (TWh) by 2047 across electric mobility, power, and electronic components.

Given that BESS has a lower capital cost and tariffs compared to PSP, it is finding more takers. The cost for for BESS is estimated around ₹3.5 crore per MW (megawatt), compared to about ₹6 crore per MW in the case of PSP.

India today largely imports lithium-ion cells and assembles them into battery packs, pointed out an expert. “These cells should be tested in batches to ensure desired product quality. This poses a major challenge to small players (EV companies and consuming industries of batteries) as they hardly have the required battery testing facilities in-house and so, depend on outside testing centers," said Shyamasis Das, a fel­low at the Centre for Social and Eco­nomic Pro­gress (CSEP). "With a handful of testing centers in the country capable to do battery testing, small EV makers often get stuck at the end of a long queue for accessing these testing facilities."

Das who leads the electric mobility research practice at CSEP also said that the time taken to roll out new battery products, new technologies, is much longer in India, compared to competitors like China, where leading battery makers in the world can build, test, and commercialize in a span of months.

Safety remains a big concern as India rolls out more of battery systems, especially in mobility. EV fires dent public sentiments and stop them from purchases, Das pointed out. India has witnessed several fire incidents in the case of electric vehicles, largely involving two-wheelers.

The US is often cited as an example of robust testing and standardization. According to American Clean Power, an industry body of renewable energy companies, between 2017 and 2022, US energy storage deployment increased more than 18 times–from 645 MWh to 12.19 GWh–while in the US safety events over the same period increased by a much smaller number: from two to 12.

Debmalya Sen, president of the Indian Energy Storage Alliance said there's an urgent need for battery testing capacities of GWh-scale. "The current scenario wherein batteries being assembled in the country are sent to China for testing also comes with an added cost due to the transportation expenditure," he said.