GIZ, TERI, and GUVNL Join Hands to Accelerate RE Integration through Energy Storage Solutions
New Delhi/ Gujarat, August 19, 2025: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), and Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) today signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under the framework of the Energy Storage for Renewable Energy Integration in India (StoREin) project. The collaboration aims to demonstrate the technical and commercial viability of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) within Gujarat’s distribution grid while developing policy and regulatory recommendations to enable wider adoption across India.
Tripartite MoU under the StoREin project to pilot battery storage solutions in Gujarat’s power distribution system
The StoREin project is implemented by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) under the International Climate Initiative (IKI), in close cooperation with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India. TERI, along with consortium partners Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology (Fraunhofer IEE), IIT Bombay, and WRI India, is supporting the project through applied research, demonstrations, and policy advocacy.
Gujarat has achieved the highest renewable energy capacity addition in the country and, as the leading state in rooftop solar installations, has taken a significant step forward in advancing the Nationally Determined Contributions announced by the Hon’ble Prime Minister. GUVNL has initiated Utility Scale Energy Storage tendering work to meet the renewable energy intermittency. With rapid growth of renewable energy at the distribution level, the demand for energy storage solutions at substations and feeder points has become increasingly important.
The MoU outlines a comprehensive programme of work, beginning with pre-feasibility studies to assess the benefits, siting and sizing of BESS for different applications within GUVNL’s network. Based on this analysis, business models will be developed to chart commercially sustainable pathways for storage deployment. Under this task, TERI will prepare a Detailed Project Report and GUVNL will tenderize for pilot project and a demonstration project will be implemented at GUVNL’s distribution system.
Speaking on the partnership, Mr Bernhard Voelcker, Head of the StoREin Project-GIZ India emphasized the importance of identifying and combining different use cases of energy storage systems (ESS) for the grid and demonstrating them in practice to establish their financial viability.
Highlighting TERI’s role, Mr Alekhya Datta, Fellow & Director, TERI emphasized, “The journey to a clean power sector depends on strategic partnerships and collaborative research. Through this MoU, we see battery energy storage pilots as priority areas under the project.”
Reinforcing GUVNL’s commitment, Mr Sourav Nandy, GM, F&A- GUVNL highlighted that the MoU will play a pivotal role in advancing Gujarat’s green energy transition. I see immense potential in collaborative studies on renewable energy integration with energy storage, which will strengthen the state’s power sector for the future. With India targeting 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based energy capacity by 2030, the GIZ–TERI–GUVNL partnership represents a crucial step towards unlocking decentralized energy storage solutions. Gujarat’s demonstration project is expected to serve as a replicable model for strengthening renewable energy integration and grid resilience nationwide.