Bondada Engineering has accepted a Letter of Intent issued by Gujarat Industries Power Company Limited (GIPCL) for a 20 MW/120 MWh vanadium redox flow battery project in Vadodara, Gujarat, moving the award from announcement into contract execution.
Six hours of storage at a gas plant
The six-hour duration system will be installed at GIPCL's 165 MW gas-based power plant and connected to its 132 kV substation. Co-locating storage with an existing generating asset allows the system to use an established grid connection rather than requiring an entirely new transmission corridor.
From award to acceptance
GIPCL disclosed the award on 11 August 2026 after receiving approval from Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL). Bondada's acceptance of the LoI on 17 October 2026 completes the step from award announcement to contract execution, a stage at which many announced storage projects quietly stall.
Scope of work
The project scope covers design, engineering, procurement, construction, testing and commissioning, followed by 10 years of operation and maintenance. That combination bundles the build phase and a decade of operational performance into a single contract structure.
At 120 MWh over 20 MW, the system sits squarely in the long-duration category. Vanadium redox flow batteries store energy in external tanks of liquid electrolyte, so duration can be extended by adding electrolyte volume rather than more cells — an economic characteristic that suits six-hour-plus duty cycles and daily cycling over long asset lives.
India's flow battery momentum
The GIPCL project adds to a growing set of Indian storage awards that specify durations well beyond the one- to two-hour batteries that dominated early deployments. GUVNL's approval was a prerequisite for the GIPCL award, underlining the role state utilities play in India's storage procurement.
For the global LDES sector, the significance lies in the contracting model as much as the chemistry: a utility-scale, six-hour flow battery with a decade of O&M included gives the owner a single point of accountability for performance over the asset's early life.
This article was assisted by AI analysis. Please refer to the original source for official information.