ReNew Power pairs up with US's Fluence over energy storage

Sumant Sinha, Chairman and CEO, ReNew Power

Nasdaq-listed ReNew Power has entered into an agreement with US energy storage major Fluence to form a 50:50 joint venture in India, the companies said on Thursday in a release.

ReNew has already been working on stationary energy storage space through its intelligent energy solution portfolio that includes 300 megawatt of peak power project and 400 MW of round-the-clock power project. The venture with Fluence will help the company expand its portfolio.

“India’s energy transition and its ambition to achieve net zero by 2070 calls for strong and rapid storage integration with the grid,” Sumant Sinha, founder, chairman and chief executive of ReNew Power, said.

Fluence, which was founded by multinationals AES and Siemens in 2018, has projects in 30 markets around the world. It specialises in modular products, software and solutions for modernising electric grids and deploying renewable energy.

Fluence and ReNew said that the venture will cater to a market projected to reach 27GW/108GWh by 2030, according to India’s Central Electricity Authority. The venture, which will be managed and operated by an independent management team and board, will leverage the global expertise of Fluence to adapt and localise for the Indian market. 

It will offer products, engineering and construction solutions and asset management services, and is expected to start operations in the first half of 2022.

The first project to be serviced by the venture will be ReNew’s in Karnataka, which will have a peak power output of 300 MW.

As of December 31, ReNew had a total capacity of approximately 10.3 GW of renewable energy projects across India, including commissioned and committed projects. The company has earlier given a guidance of 8.2 GW of operational capacity by financial year 2021-22 as against around 6,315 MW now.

Indian companies like ReNew, Reliance Industries and the Adani Group are keen to build the renewable energy supply chain, especially for energy storage, and have committed investments for the space. These companies are looking at tie-ups with international technology companies to fill gaps in their portfolio. In August, Reliance made its first strategic move in the renewable energy sector with an investment of $50 million in US-based energy storage company Ambri Inc.

Moreover, the Modi government has revised India’s clean energy target and the country now aims to build 500 GW renewable energy by 2030. As the government aims to have half of its energy mix from non-fossil fuels, the industry needs to move swiftly to build storage solutions that can reduce the intermittent nature of renewable energy.