Union Minister for Power, Housing and Urban Affairs, Manohar Lal, inaugurated India’s first MWh-scale Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRFB) system at NTPC’s NETRA (Noida) on Tuesday. The 3 MWh battery system marks a major milestone in the country’s advancement towards long-duration energy storage solutions, which are key to enhancing renewable energy integration and strengthening grid resilience.
During his visit, the Minister also reviewed several demonstration projects at NTPC NETRA, including the Green Hydrogen Mobility Plant, STP Water-based Green Hydrogen Plant, Solid Oxide-based High-Temperature Steam Electrolyzer, MSW-RDF-based Enhanced Steam Gasification Plant, and an AC Microgrid with 4 MWp solar capacity and a 1 MWh Li-NMC battery energy storage system. He also visited NETRA’s NABL-accredited laboratories.
Officials briefed the Minister on NTPC’s ongoing research and development initiatives in Carbon Capture, Green Hydrogen, Energy Storage, and Waste-to-Energy technologies. Lal appreciated the NETRA team for their innovative contributions toward India’s clean energy transition and emphasized that the nation’s growing technological capabilities are setting new benchmarks for sustainable development and energy security.