India’s domestic battery manufacturing currently meets less than 1% of the roughly 260 GWh storage demand expected from competitive tenders in 2026. This leaves India heavily reliant on imported batteries despite its growing policy push for self-reliance. New research from Wood Mackenzie, titled Chasing Self-Sufficiency: Cost of Building an Indigenous Battery Storage Supply Chain in India, finds that although more than 226 GWh of cell manufacturing capacity has been announced through 2035, progress is being held back by project delays, funding challenges and reliance on Chinese and South Korean technology licensors. As a result, India could still be 10–15 years away from developing a globally competitive and self-sufficient battery cell industry.
India has just 2 GWh of commissioned cell manufacturing capacity as of 2026, against China’s cumulative capacity of 2,695 GWh. China controls between 85% and 98% of global capacity across every major supply chain component, from cathode to anode, separator and electrolyte. Bridging that gap will require India to fundamentally restructure its manufacturing ecosystem, Wood Mackenzie’s report noted.
“India’s battery storage ambitions are credible, but the gap between policy intent and operational capacity is wide,” said Ankita Chauhan, director, Wood Mackenzie. “The near-term opportunity lies in downstream components such as containers, EMS, and battery packs, where localisation is both technically feasible and commercially attractive. The harder work of building a self-sufficient cell industry will take a decade or more and requires sustained, targeted investment that goes well beyond the incentive schemes currently in place.”
Downstream first, cells later
India is expected to prioritise the localisation of downstream components, including containers, energy management systems, SCADA, and battery packs, over the next two to three years, supported by a 20% domestic content requirement now applied to grid-scale BESS projects under new tenders. Wood Mackenzie modelling shows scaling domestic content requirements (DCR) from less than 20% to 100% adds about 30% total CAPEX premium to a benchmark 100 MW, 2-hour battery storage project, two-hour project.
A competitive cost position, but a premium over China
According to Wood Mackenzie, locally manufactured cells are expected to cost 25-40% more than imported ones, driven by limited scale, higher financing costs and an underdeveloped supplier ecosystem. Yet India’s underlying cost position is globally competitive by offering a 154% cost advantage over Japan and a 9% advantage over South Korea, placing it second only to China among major manufacturing destinations. Cell manufacturing is expected to develop progressively with imported inputs over the next two to five years, while full refining capabilities will take more than ten years to establish.
Gigafactories constrained by financial viability
Only four players have commissioned gigafactories in India as of 2026, with further groups still in various stages of planning or early production. Financial viability remains a central challenge, as a 5 GWh facility operates at -10% EBITDA, with breakeven only achievable at 10 GWh and positive margins requiring at least 20 GWh, according to Wood Mackenzie. Nearly all players rely on Chinese or Korean technology licences, which limit their control over pricing and supply chains.
“India’s cost position is genuinely competitive in a global context, and that matters as supply chain diversification becomes a strategic imperative,” said Priya Shrivastava, Senior Research Analyst, Wood Mackenzie. “The challenge is closing the execution gap fast enough to capture that opportunity before other emerging manufacturing hubs do.
