Rs 325 Crore Power Up! Waaree Fuels India's Energy Storage Revolution – Is This Your Next Big Investment?

Niveshaay, an investment advisory and asset management firm, has successfully led a significant Rs 325 crore funding round for Waaree Energy Storage Systems, a key player in the battery storage sector and part of the Waaree Group. This substantial investment aims to significantly expand the group's battery capabilities. The funds will be strategically allocated to enhance cell and pack manufacturing capacity, bolster engineering and validation expertise, and scale up the deployment of containerized Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) both within India and in select international markets.

Niveshaay's commitment to this round totals Rs 128 crore, channeled through its various funds, including a new Collective Investment Vehicle (CIV) dedicated to battery storage. Other notable co-investors include Vivek Jain and Saket Agarwal.

**Impact** This funding round is poised to accelerate India's clean energy transition. By strengthening Waaree's domestic storage platform with enhanced scale and technological depth, it supports the nation's ambitious energy goals. The growth of battery storage is crucial for grid stability, renewable energy integration, and managing peak demand. As India's storage market is projected to grow from 0.4 GWh in 2024 to around 200 GWh by 2030, driven by policy support like viability-gap funding and PLI schemes, Waaree is well-positioned to capitalize on this expansion. The news signals strong investor confidence in India's renewable energy and storage ecosystem.

Impact Rating: 8/10

**Definitions** * **Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)**: Systems designed to store electrical energy generated from sources like solar or wind and release it when needed, helping to stabilize the grid and ensure power availability. * **Viability-gap funding (VGF)**: Financial support provided by the government to make infrastructure projects, like energy storage, economically viable. * **Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme**: A government scheme that provides incentives to companies for increasing their domestic manufacturing capacity and sales. * **Energy Storage Obligation (ESO)**: A policy mandating energy providers to procure a certain amount of energy storage capacity. * **GWh (Gigawatt-hour)**: A unit of energy, representing one billion watt-hours, commonly used to measure the capacity of large-scale energy storage systems. * **Vertically integrated model**: A business strategy where a company controls multiple stages of its supply chain, from manufacturing components to integrating and servicing the final product. * **EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction)**: A type of contract in which a company is responsible for the design, procurement, and construction of a project.