Q1. Could you start by giving us a brief overview of your professional background, particularly focusing on your expertise in the industry?

I’ve spent more than 30 years immersed in the energy storage, power electronics, and electric mobility space. Over the years, I’ve worked hands-on with batteries, lithium-ion technology, electric vehicles, EV charging and infrastructure, telecom and data center systems, UPS solutions, and large-scale energy storage projects. My journey has taken me through leadership roles at companies like Emerson, Delta, ACME, and Exicom, giving me a front-row seat to both traditional power systems and the latest clean energy innovations.

My work has not been limited to any one part of the value chain. I have been involved in understanding customer requirements, product and solution development, supplier evaluation, manufacturing, quality improvement, field performance, and commercial deployment. This has allowed me to view a battery not simply as a cell or component, but as part of a complete system involving the battery-management system, thermal management, power electronics, charging infrastructure, safety architecture, and lifecycle service.

Over the years, I have seen the industry transition from lead-acid batteries and conventional backup-power systems to lithium-ion batteries, fast charging, electric vehicles and grid-scale energy storage. One important lesson from this transition is that the lowest initial battery price does not necessarily produce the lowest operating cost. Reliability, usable energy, cycle life, safety, temperature performance, warranty support, and system integration ultimately determine the commercial value of a battery solution.

Currently, I work as an independent consultant, supporting companies in areas such as battery strategy, supplier development, localization, product reliability, quality systems, EV and charging solutions, BESS applications, and market-entry planning. I also work with management teams to connect technical decisions with commercial outcomes.

My strength is therefore the combination of technical understanding, operational experience and market perspective. I can evaluate a technology from the viewpoint of a manufacturer, customer, and investor. That is particularly important today because the battery industry is moving very quickly. Still, sustainable value will come from disciplined execution, product reliability, and lifecycle economics, not merely from capacity announcements or falling cell prices.

Q2. As battery costs continue to fall, where are customers still willing to pay for better performance—and where is cost becoming the deciding factor?

Battery prices are coming down, but that doesn’t mean customers don’t care about performance anymore. What’s really shifting is what they’re willing to pay extra for. People are happy to spend more on batteries when it directly impacts things like safety, keeping vehicles on the road, generating revenue, managing warranty costs, or ensuring their business keeps running smoothly.

In electric vehicles, customers are willing to pay for: 

• Proven safety
• Longer cycle life
• Consistent driving range
• Faster charging
• Better performance at high temperatures 
• Dependable warranty

This is especially true for commercial vehicles, buses, delivery fleets, and high-usage two- and three-wheelers. If you rely on your vehicle to make money every day, even a little bit of downtime can cost you much more than paying a bit extra for a better battery. That’s why fleet operators are willing to invest in batteries that offer consistent performance, remote monitoring, quick service, and the ability to hold their charge well over time.

The same idea applies to big data centers, telecom, and other critical backup systems. Here, customers care most about reliability, uptime, saving space, keeping things cool, and getting issues fixed fast.

For large battery energy storage systems (BESS), developers and lenders are putting more value on strong warranties, guarantees against degradation, smart plans for system upgrades, fire safety, and the ability to deliver the promised energy for the whole project. Buying the cheapest cells just isn’t enough anymore.

Price only becomes the top priority when the products are pretty similar, the conditions aren’t too tough, and everyone’s offering about the same performance. You see this a lot with entry-level EVs, home storage systems, regular battery packs, and in really competitive tenders. In these cases, customers usually won’t pay more for extra features that don’t translate into real-world benefits or savings.

So, suppliers need to show how performance actually saves money. Saying a battery lasts longer only matters if it brings down the cost for every kilowatt-hour delivered. Faster charging is valuable if it means vehicles are on the road more. And higher energy density only counts if space and weight really matter to the customer.

In my opinion, battery cell chemistry is going to become more like a commodity over time, but solid system engineering will stay valuable. The real premium will move to things like battery management systems (BMS), thermal controls, safety, analytics, integration, trustworthy warranties, and strong after-sales support. The best solution won’t always be the cheapest to buy upfront—it’ll be the one that delivers the lowest, most reliable cost over the battery’s entire life.

 

Q3. As India localizes its battery supply chain, where do you see the biggest shifts in sourcing—and who stands to benefit?

India’s battery localization journey will happen in stages. 

Battery packs and system-level components

The first stage—which is already moving forward—is about making battery packs and system-level parts here in India. This means things like pack assembly, enclosures, wiring harnesses, busbars, battery management systems, chargers, cooling systems, power electronics, and software can be designed and built locally. These areas are great starting points: they need strong engineering and manufacturing skills, but they don’t rely completely on having homegrown supplies of lithium, nickel, cobalt, or graphite.

Domestic Cell Manufacturing

The next big leap will be moving from importing battery cells to making them in India. The Advanced Chemistry Cell PLI program is aiming for 50 GWh of domestic cell-making capacity, with 40 GWh already allocated by early 2026. But for now, most of that capacity is still being built—so India will keep importing a lot of cells for the foreseeable future, even as local gigafactories start coming online.

Upstream

The real challenge comes further up the supply chain. Cathode and anode materials, separators, electrolyte, lithium salts, and other processed minerals all need scale, advanced technology, steady supplies of raw materials, and tight process control. India won’t be able to replace every imported input overnight. The practical approach will be to broaden international sourcing, lock in long-term mineral and material deals, build up local processing, and ramp up recycling to recover valuable materials.

Companies Positioned to Benefit

The first to benefit will be companies that already know their stuff when it comes to automotive-grade manufacturing, power electronics, chemicals, thermal systems, and precision engineering. Indian suppliers who can deliver on traceability, consistency, and safety will have the chance to move up from just making parts to becoming full-fledged system partners. Battery recyclers and material recovery firms will also see upside, since recycling can cut down on imports and help build a local supply of critical materials like lithium, nickel, cobalt, and copper.

But localization isn’t just about where the final assembly happens. Simply importing cells and putting them together here doesn’t offer much long-term advantage. What really matters is building local expertise—like engineering, intellectual property, testing, materials know-how, process skills, and developing strong suppliers.

So, the companies that will really win are the ones that can combine scale with technology and a serious focus on quality. It’s one thing to announce big plans—it’s much tougher to actually deliver consistent results, safety, competitive costs, and long-term reliability in the field. In the end, it’s this ability to execute that will decide who turns India’s localization push into lasting value.

 

Q4. Across EVs, charging and BESS, where do you see the strongest combination of growth, utilization and attractive economics emerging?

The best business cases are showing up where assets get used a lot and switching to electric really saves money. That’s why I see some of the most promising near-term opportunities in commercial electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, buses, and certain fleet uses.

Electric two- and three-wheelers

Electric two- and three-wheelers are particularly suitable for India because they have relatively small batteries, high daily usage and a clear fuel-cost advantage. Delivery fleets, e-commerce operators, last-mile logistics companies and passenger three-wheelers can recover the additional cost of electrification more quickly than low-utilization private vehicles. In such applications, battery reliability, charging turnaround and service availability become critical because every hour of downtime affects income.

Captive and Depot-based Charging

Within charging infrastructure, captive and depot-based charging generally offers stronger economics than an isolated public charging station. A bus depot, logistics hub, corporate fleet or delivery centre has predictable demand and repeat users. This improves charger utilization and makes it possible to optimize power demand, charging schedules and energy cost. Public fast charging will certainly grow, but its profitability will remain highly location dependent. High-traffic highways, fuel stations, airports and dense urban corridors will perform better than chargers installed primarily to achieve network coverage.

BESS

BESS represents the largest long-term capacity opportunity. Grid-scale projects will grow as renewable-energy penetration increases, and utilities require peak shifting, balancing and resource adequacy. India has also established an Energy Storage Obligation trajectory rising to 4% by FY 2029–30. However, project economics depend on appropriate contracting, accurate degradation assumptions and the ability to monetize more than one service.

In the near term, commercial and industrial BESS can offer attractive economics when they combine solar-energy shifting, peak-demand reduction, backup power, and improved power quality. Data centres, industrial plants, renewable-energy projects and facilities with expensive or unreliable grid supply are especially relevant.

Therefore, my preferred opportunities are high-utilization commercial EV fleets with captive charging, followed by well-contracted BESS projects serving multiple operational functions. Growth alone is not enough. Investors should examine actual utilization, power availability, battery replacement assumptions, customer credit quality, and revenue visibility. The most valuable projects will be those where the battery is used regularly and where each cycle creates a clearly measurable economic benefit.

 

Q5. If you had to leave investors with one key takeaway on the long-term opportunity in India's EV and energy storage ecosystem, what would it be and why?

If I had to sum it up, I’d say India’s EV and energy storage opportunity is a big, long-term shift—but not everyone in the ecosystem will benefit equally. Investors should zero in on companies that are actually solving day-to-day problems and building real, defensible strengths, instead of just chasing market-growth headlines or capacity announcements.

India has a lot going for it: a huge mobility market, heavy reliance on imported oil, fast-growing electricity needs, a big push for renewables, and a demand for reliable power. Electrification and energy storage can tackle all these issues. Electric vehicles cut down on fuel use and running costs, while BESS helps bring more solar and wind onto the grid, smooth out peak demand, and keep the lights on.

But just because the market is growing doesn’t mean every company will make money. Battery cells will become more and more standardized, and price wars will continue. The real, lasting value will move toward things that are tough to copy—like battery management systems, thermal controls, safety engineering, power electronics, smart charging software, energy management tools, recycling, predictive maintenance, and strong service over the battery’s full life.

It’s important for investors to look beyond just how much capacity a company claims to have, and dig into what they can actually do. A big battery factory announcement sounds good, but real success comes down to manufacturing yield, steady quality, reliable suppliers, smart technology choices, having solid customers, and staying competitive as battery tech evolves. The same goes for charging companies—it’s not about how many chargers are in the ground, but whether they actually get used and make money. And for BESS developers, focus on things like guaranteed revenues, realistic assumptions about battery lifespan, and the ability to deliver—not just on how many megawatt-hours they announce.

So, the real long-term opportunity isn’t just about churning out more batteries. It’s about building a full Indian ecosystem that can design, build, finance, operate, monitor, maintain, and eventually recycle these batteries right here at home.

The companies that understand lifecycle economics and earn customer confidence will create the greatest value. My advice to investors is to back execution quality, strong technology partnerships, disciplined manufacturing, reliable products, bankable warranties, and clear paths to positive cash flow. India’s opportunity is unquestionably large, but reliability and economics will determine who converts that opportunity into sustainable returns.