NTPC Green Energy Seeks Bids for 10-GW, 40-GWh Battery Supply

• NTPC Green Energy invited international bids on Nov. 9 for LFP battery containers and grid-forming PCS for 10 GW / 40 GWh of storage.
• The 40.58 GWh is split into seven blocks over three phases, with 15 years of service on each project.
• Bids are due Dec. 8, 2026; a separate tender covers the balance of plant for a 250-MW / 1,000-MWh battery at Kayamkulam, Kerala.

NTPC Green Energy Ltd. (NGEL) has invited international bids for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery containers and grid-forming power conversion systems (PCS). The equipment is for 10 GW / 40 GWh of battery energy storage. Bids under the Nov. 9 invitation are due at 3 p.m. India time on Dec. 8, 2026.

Winners will supply the systems and supervise their commissioning up to the PCS output terminals. They will also service them for 15 years under a long-term agreement. The order is split into seven blocks across three phases, and a bid must cover whole blocks. NGEL has not named the sites. An earlier notice said the batteries are for "various projects across its portfolio".

Manufacturers need at least 4,000 MWh of LFP containers supplied in three years, with one order of 500 MWh or more. Indian firms with smaller records can bid alongside such a maker. Bid security runs from INR 50 crore ($5.3 million) to INR 200 crore ($21 million). The invitation sets no domestic-content quota.

The tender in numbers

• 40.58 GWh of deliverable capacity in seven blocks of 4.56 GWh to 6.8 GWh each.
• 17.42 GWh in Phase 1, or 42.9% of the total (list.solar calculation).
• 4 hours of average duration, from 40 GWh over 10 GW (list.solar calculation).
• 15 years of service and maintenance from each project's commissioning.
• INR 69 lakh of average annual turnover required per MWh quoted, or about INR 28,000 crore for all seven blocks (list.solar calculation).
• 135% of the 30 GWh of batteries in India's new viability gap funding scheme (list.solar calculation).

The Union Cabinet approved that INR 14,500 crore scheme for 92 GWh of storage on Nov. 4. Battery projects it funds need 40% domestic content, the government said. It put India's grid-storage need at 411 GWh by 2031-32. NGEL's tender equals about 9.9% of that.

NGEL also opened a domestic tender on Nov. 9 for the balance of plant of a 250-MW / 1,000-MWh battery at NTPC's Kayamkulam station in Kerala. NGEL will provide the containers and PCS. The contractor builds a 220-kV switchyard and runs the plant for five years. Bids are due Dec. 11, followed by a reverse auction.

For the main tender, documents can be downloaded from Nov. 12 to Nov. 23 after bidders sign a non-disclosure agreement. A pre-bid conference is set for Nov. 24.