Cygni Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding with Indus Towers to develop and source Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) solutions for telecom infrastructure in India, including plans for dedicated manufacturing capacity of up to 1.5 GWh.
The collaboration will focus on meeting the energy requirements of telecom infrastructure and evaluating advanced battery technologies for telecom applications, Cygni Energy said in an announcement on Monday. The companies said the initiative is intended to improve reliability, increase energy efficiency and support more sustainable telecom operations.
Under the MoU, Cygni and Indus Towers will work towards establishing BESS manufacturing capacity of up to 1.5 GWh. The capacity is intended to serve telecom infrastructure, where dependable backup and energy management systems are required to support network equipment and tower operations.
Cygni Energy Founder and Chief Executive Officer Venkat Rajaraman said the initiative would extend beyond battery supply and focus on building manufacturing scale, technology capabilities and readiness for the changing energy needs of telecom infrastructure companies.
“We plan to develop capacity of up to 2 GWh, while building a portfolio that can evolve from today’s 100Ah solutions to higher-capacity 314Ah systems and emerging battery technologies,” Rajaraman said. The company’s stated capacity ambition of up to 2 GWh is higher than the up-to-1.5 GWh manufacturing capacity described under the MoU.
Rajaraman said the company aimed to combine scale, reliability and Indian engineering to develop energy storage solutions that could evolve with India’s expanding digital infrastructure. The statement did not provide a commissioning date, investment figure, manufacturing location or details of the commercial terms between the two companies.
The agreement comes as telecom infrastructure operators explore storage technologies for managing power requirements and improving the resilience of distributed equipment. Battery systems can support backup requirements and help operators manage energy use at sites where grid supply, operating costs and sustainability targets are important considerations. The announcement, however, did not specify the number of telecom sites that could be covered or the expected reduction in diesel-generator use or emissions.
Indus Towers announced a separate collaboration with HEG Advanced Materials-backed Replus Engitech the previous week to explore BESS solutions. Under that MoU, the two companies intend to make available 1.5 GWh of dedicated BESS production capacity over two years.
The Cygni-Indus Towers announcement did not disclose whether the two arrangements involve overlapping procurement requirements or separate technology and supply programmes. Further details on the manufacturing plan, product deployment, timelines and implementation milestones were not provided.
