India’s battery energy storage system (BESS) market sector has received a $300 million thrust.
India Grid Trust (IndiGrid), India’s first and largest Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) in the power transmission sector has partnered with British International Investment (BII), and Norwegian Climate Investment Fund managed by Norfund to launch Energrid.
The companies plan to invest $100 million each on the BESS platform. The capital will enable EnerGrid to target projects worth approximately $1.2 billion over the next few years. Energird will focus on developing transmission and battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in India.
Eventually, IndiGrid will fully acquire the projects at a pre-arranged enterprise value once the projects start commercial operations, the company said in a statement.
Harsh Shah, Chief Executive Officer and Whole Time Director, IndiGrid, said, “The Indian power sector is going through a metamorphosis to facilitate the achievement of the country’s net-zero goals. The transmission sector is witnessing a bidding pipeline like never before which we are looking to leverage to drive growth.
“This partnership will ensure that while IndiGrid continues to look for synergistic brownfield projects to acquire, we can also meaningfully create a growth pipeline for us in the under-construction space.”
Tellef Thorleifsson, CEO, Norfund, said, “Norfund recognizes the crucial role that investments in transmission infrastructure play in achieving the Indian government’s ambitious renewable energy targets. Unlocking capital to accelerate the energy transition is a central theme at COP29 in Baku, and we are delighted to announce this new partnership, which exemplifies our commitment to mobilizing the necessary capital.”
Srini Nagarajan, MD and Head, Asia, British International Investment, said, “Significant investment is required for India to meet its ambitious net-zero target, especially in developing the country’s transmission infrastructure and energy storage capacity. This partnership will help to attract more private capital into a critical sector, which will facilitate the growth of renewable energy supply to meet growing energy demand sustainably and accelerate India’s journey towards a greener future.”
Avendus Capital acted as the advisor to IndiGrid on the transaction.
