US Energy Giant Fluence Eyes India for Battery Energy Storage System Manufacturing Base

In an interview to a media outlet, senior vice-president and president of US operations John Zahurancik stated that Fluence Energy, a provider of energy storage technology and services, is getting ready to turn India into a critical manufacturing and export base as it diversifies its global supply chain. The action is taken as global energy companies reconsider their sourcing strategies in light of geopolitical changes and vulnerabilities from the pandemic that revealed the dangers of over-concentrated production.

According to Zahurancik, the company, which is supported by Siemens and AES, two US-based power majors, has begun negotiating with domestic partners to localise the production of battery energy storage system (BESS) components and is considering India as a possible export hub for Asia Pacific and nearby markets. With a 25% market share, Fluence, a US company based in Virginia, is one of the biggest battery storage companies in the world. Its factories are located in Vietnam and the United States.

Plans Still in Prototype Mode: Zahurancik

According to Zahurancik, the company has not yet finalised deadlines for commercial sales, and its sales and production plans for India are still in the prototype stage. In order to ensure that the company can guarantee good quality on such pieces, Zahurancik told the media that the company will continue and investigate expansions of its manufacturing, especially of the enclosure control systems and others.

The business has therefore been looking at manufacturing in India. It already has some production in Vietnam, and since the scale of this is growing, it keeps looking for ways to invest there.

Fluence serves businesses in the utilities and independent power producer (IPP) sectors as well as industrial enterprises. In 2019, it installed the first megawatt-scale grid-connected battery storage capacity in India for Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd. with a 10 MW/10 MWh project in Delhi. The corporation operates a worldwide innovation centre in Bengaluru that focuses on engineering, product development, services, and research and development.

How the Brand is Planning it India’s Expansion?

When asked about the firm's intentions to export parts from India, Zahurancik responded that Fluence has made a significant commitment to the Indian people because of its global innovation centre, which gives the company a significant presence in India. It's one of its biggest offices, and it's where the company keeps hiring a lot of talent and its product development team. Naturally, this has led to an examination of how Fluence uses Indian vendors for both production in India and shipping across the region. "We don't have a specific date on it, but it's an active part of what we are doing right now," he stated.