Luminous Power to set up manufacturing unit in east India

NEW DELHI: Luminous Power Technologies, a subsidiary of French industrial giant Schneider Electric, plans to invest Rs 500 crore in expanding its production capacity, including setting up a new manufacturing unit in the eastern part of India, the company's managing director and CEO Preeti Bajaj said.

In an interview with ANI, Bajaj said the proposed investments would boost Luminous Power Technologies' battery capacity by more than 50 per cent in the next few years. She said the company recently opened a manufacturing unit in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, and plans to set up a new manufacturing plant in the eastern part of the country.

When asked about the location of the proposed plant in the eastern India, Bajaj said, "We are still contemplating on the exact location." Bajaj, who joined Luminous Power Technologies as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) in July this year, said capacity expansion and technological innovation would be priorities for the company in the coming years.

"Today we are focused on home consumers with power backup solutions. We believe that there is an opportunity to bring to the consumer trusted advisory, brand assurance, good quality service and good quality products for solar as well. That is certainly a lever of growth that we are focused on," she said. Bajaj expressed confidence in the growth potential of the Indian power backup markets.

"India's potential for rooftop solar is estimated at 200 gigawatts, a lot of that in the commercial and industrial segment, but home is also significant. That seems to be an opportunity area because Luminous is focused on home consumers," she said. India's cumulative rooftop solar capacity was estimated at around 7.6 gigawatts (GW) as of March 31, 2022.

Luminous Power Technologies' investment proposal is significant as Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman earlier this week sought to know the reasons for India Inc's hesitance in investing in manufacturing. "We will do everything to get industry coming and investing here...We have given PLI. I want to hear from India Inc, what's stopping you," the finance minister said while speaking at an industry event on 13th September.

On consumer demands, Luminous Power Technologies' CEO & MD, said, "All our factories are very busy." "Our intent is to definitely make India very proud as much as possible through battery and inverter manufacturing investments wherever it makes commercial sense," she said.

Bajaj lauded India's progress in the power sector. "If I have to look at the energy requirements of India itself, the profile has changed. We don't have the load shedding that we used to have. But yet there is also solar. People are very interested in powering their houses with their own sustainable forms of electricity. And sometimes it is also value proposition for the customers because it is economical." Boosting exports would be one of the priority areas for Bajaj in the coming years. Exports constituted around 8 per cent of Luminous Power Technologies' revenue last year.

By 2025, the company targets to boost the share of exports in overall revenue to 20-25 per cent from around 8 per cent in 2021. With our continued focus on renewable energy solutions, exports market and new product lines, we are targeting to grow our overall revenue by 50 per cent till 2025, Bajaj added.