India selects winners for second electrolyser tender

India has selected the winners of its second round of subsidy tenders to support 1.5 GW/yr of electrolyser manufacturing capacity, according to government sources.

Out of the 23 companies that bid, India selected 13 to receive support (see table). But these results are still tentative and may change, a government source told Argus. The final list is likely to be published on the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) website by next week.

This round follows a similar structure to the first, with incentives starting at 4,440 rupees/kW ($53/kW) in the first year and decreasing annually. But India introduced a new category for smaller indigenously developed units. All categories in this round were oversubscribed, with the category for smaller indigenously developed units attracting the most interest. Some 13 companies bid for a combined capacity of 295 MW/yr but Indian only offered support for 100 MW/yr. Four companies won bids in this category. Conglomerate Adani, Eastern Electrolysers, and start-up Newtrace will each get subsidies for 30 MW/yr, the maximum capacity available for an individual firm.

In the "any stack technologies" category, seven companies will share subsidies for 1.1 GW/yr of production. This category was also oversubscribed, with bids totalling over 2 GW/yr. Mumbai-based Waaree Energies and a consortium of engineering firms Gensol and Matrix Gas Renewables will receive the largest support in terms of production capacity. Waaree will receive subsidies for 300 MW/yr, the maximum support available for an individual company in this category. The Gensol and Matrix Gas consortium will receive subsidies for 237 MW/yr, followed by Advait Infratech, which secured support for 200 MW/yr.

In the large "indigenously developed units" category, India only selected two firms. Newage Green Electro will receive support for 228.5 MW/yr, while Adani will receive support for 71.5 MW/yr.

Several firms that won subsidies in the first round also participated in the second round. Adani Enterprises submitted bids across all three categories, totalling 233 MW/yr. In the previous round, its subsidiary, Adani New Industries, received subsidies for 198 MW/yr in the indigenously developed stack technology category. But the tender stipulates that the maximum capacity allocated to a bidder, including parent or affiliate companies, is limited to 300 MW/yr across all tranches and categories of India's production-linked incentive scheme, meaning Adani could not have won its full bid amount. US-based Ohmium and Gujarat-based Advait Infratech also submitted bids for extra subsidies in this round after winning in the first round. Renewable energy firm Avaada succeeded this time, securing support for 49.5 MW/yr after an unsuccessful bid in the last tender.

Mixed results for India's other tenders

India is expected to delay the deadline for its second round 450,000t/yr hydrogen production plant tender for 10-15 days, the official said.

The government had previously asked for bids by 23 August, but this looks likely to push into September.

Separately, SECI received around 500 queries from companies about for India's first renewable ammonia supply tender after the government last month set out details for its proposals for 10-year subsidy contracts, the official added. This tender has already faced delays and it could potentially need more time and work to resolve doubts and questions from the private sector.

By Akansha Victor