India must pursue coordinated action across manufacturing, deployment, second-life applications, and end-of-life management to build a resilient, circular battery ecosystem, experts and policymakers said at a national conference in New Delhi on 26 September 2026. The gathering, organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), brought together industry leaders, researchers, and government officials to map the opportunities and challenges shaping India's rapidly evolving battery value chain.

Second-Life Applications at the Centre of the Debate

Dr Vibha Dhawan, Director General of TERI, called for broadening the policy conversation beyond electric mobility. 'The conversation must also go beyond mobility and explore the potential of second-life applications for EV batteries, which can help maximize their value and utilization beyond their initial use in vehicles,' she said. Her remarks signal a growing recognition that batteries discarded by electric vehicles still retain substantial usable capacity.

Kuldeep Rana, Scientist E at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), reinforced that point, noting: 'Second-life batteries have significant potential for applications beyond electric mobility, including home appliances, rooftop solar PV systems and UPS systems.' Such repurposing could help reduce the cost of stationary energy storage — a critical enabler for India's 500 GW renewable energy target.

Government's Push for Domestic Manufacturing and Circularity

Vijay Mittal, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Heavy Industries, said the ministry is actively working to strengthen domestic manufacturing and supply chains while simultaneously advancing traceability, standards, and recycling frameworks. The focus, he indicated, is on making India's battery ecosystem both competitive and circular — not merely an assembler of imported cells.

Conference discussions spanned the full battery value chain, including the scale-up of domestic Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) manufacturing, the expansion of electric mobility, and the emerging requirements for battery reuse, repurposing, and end-of-life recycling.

Design for Circularity, Not Just Volume

AK Saxena, Senior Director at TERI, argued that India must localise value creation rather than simply increasing production volumes. He stressed that batteries should be 'designed for circularity from day one,' and that building trust in second-life applications requires clear assessments of remaining capacity and performance. Without such standards, repurposed batteries could face adoption barriers from consumers and utilities alike.

Vinayak Walimbe, Managing Director of the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA), echoed the call for greater domestic value addition, framing it as essential to building a globally competitive battery ecosystem within the country.

Grid Resilience and State-Level Planning

Sugandhita Wadhera, Senior Manager at BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd, highlighted the distribution-side challenge. 'State-level capacity planning, stronger payment-security mechanisms, and flexible resources at the distribution downstream will be critical for managing peak demand and building a resilient and responsive power system,' she said. Her remarks underscored that the battery ecosystem debate is not confined to vehicles — it extends deep into grid management and power sector reform.

What Comes Next

The TERI conference did not produce a formal policy declaration, but the convergence of government, industry, and research voices around second-life applications and circular design represents a notable shift in India's battery discourse. With ACC manufacturing incentives already active under the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme and EV adoption accelerating, the pressure to establish robust reuse and recycling frameworks is expected to intensify in the months ahead.