Water purifier firm KENT RO Systems has diversified into the clean energy solutions business and invested Rs 250 crore in its lithium battery and inverter plant in Noida, the company said on Wednesday. Its new division, called Kent New Energy, has an installed annual capacity of 3.5 GWh, which the company expects to increase to 10 GWh over the next six months.
Its energy storage systems pair lithium batteries with solar hybrid inverters. These batteries, ranging from 5.1 kWh to 16 kWh, store solar and grid power for use in the evening and during outages.
The company sources its cells from manufacturers such as EVE and REPT. The products will be sold through KENT RO's dealer network, retail stores and online channels. Solar hybrid inverters and larger battery packs will also be sold through system integrators and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) partners.
"At the moment, the batteries and inverters are still very high priced and the components like cells which we use in our batteries are still being imported," Chairman and Managing Director Mahesh Gupta said, adding that the continuity of the products should be maintained and raw materials should be made available.
India's inverter battery market is estimated at about $1.31 billion and is expected to grow at double-digit rates until 2031. Lithium-ion batteries and hybrid inverters are forecast to grow faster.
The company said its hybrid inverter is supplied with a 4G data logger and a five-year data pack. Through the KENT central command mobile app, installers can see the live status of every inverter they have installed and change settings remotely. Data is stored on KENT servers in India, in line with Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) requirements.