China’s energy storage unicorn Hithium Energy Storage has made waves in the global market with its recent moves—securing a top-tier position in global battery shipments and inking a potential game-changing deal with India’s Reliance Group, a partnership that could reshape the new energy landscape between the two nations.
Hithium-Reliance Cooperation Takes Shape
In late August 2025, the U.S. magazine Entrepreneur first reported that India’s Reliance Group was in advanced talks with Hithium Energy Storage to produce batteries in India using core Chinese technology. By early September, Indonesia’s CNBC TV confirmed the two parties had reached a preliminary agreement on a “technology licensing + royalty” model, marking a key step toward formal collaboration.
Under this framework, Hithium will provide underlying battery technology to Reliance without taking equity stakes or dispatching operational teams. Instead of receiving finished batteries, Reliance will gain access to a full set of technical capabilities—from cell design to production processes—to build India’s first large-scale battery super factory. This asset-light approach allows Hithium to avoid heavy capital risks in India’s policy-sensitive market, while Reliance skips years of R&D to jump straight into battery production.
Hithium’s credentials underscore its role as a global energy storage leader. Founded just six years ago, the firm has quickly risen to rank among the world’s top 3 in energy storage battery shipments, with a valuation exceeding 25 billion yuan. Its business spans North America, Europe, Oceania, the Middle East, and South America. In the first half of 2025 alone, it claimed the No.2 spot globally in both energy storage battery and power storage shipments, with high-profile projects including China’s Alxa League 100GW clean energy base, the “Source-Grid-Load-Storage Cloud” project in Liaocheng (Shandong Province), the Jaguar project in Texas (U.S.), and Hungary’s first customized energy storage system in Europe.
Reliance Group, India’s largest private conglomerate, brings unmatched local scale to the partnership. With a market value over $100 billion, its operations cover energy, telecommunications, retail, and digital services—making it a cornerstone of India’s private sector. Chairman Mukesh Ambani has publicly committed to investing $10 billion by 2030 to build a closed-loop new energy ecosystem, encompassing solar power, batteries, hydrogen energy, and fuel cells. Batteries, as the core of this ecosystem, are where Hithium’s technology fills a critical gap.
India’s “Make in India” Push in New Energy
The collaboration aligns closely with India’s national “Make in India” strategy, launched in 2014 to transform the country from a service-driven economy to a global manufacturing hub. Over the past decade, the initiative has yielded tangible results: India leads in generic drug exports, dominates global software outsourcing, and has emerged as the world’s second-largest mobile phone manufacturer. In the 2024-25 fiscal year, India’s smartphone exports hit $24.14 billion—nearly five times the figure three years prior—surpassing oil and diamonds to become the nation’s top export category.
New energy, particularly battery manufacturing, is now a priority for India’s industrial upgrade. The government views domestic battery production as key to reducing import dependence, creating high-skill jobs, and building a self-sustaining new energy supply chain. Reliance, often seen as a “national champion” for such initiatives, is tasked with pioneering the “technology licensing + royalty” model to transfer critical know-how to India.
India’s ambitions extend beyond its borders. The government has set a target of $1 trillion in high-tech product exports by 2030, with batteries identified as a flagship product. By mastering battery technology through partnerships like the one with Hithium, India aims to move from a “technology buyer” to a “global player”—capable of not only meeting domestic demand but also exporting competitive battery products worldwide. This mirrors its success in mobile manufacturing, where initial technology transfers led to a self-sufficient export industry.
Risks of Technology Spillover
While the partnership offers mutual benefits, it carries inherent risks of technology spillover—a concern amplified by global geopolitical competition over battery technology. Major economies including the U.S., Japan, and South Korea have implemented strict measures to protect their domestic battery industries: the U.S. offers massive tax subsidies via the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the European Union (EU) has enacted regulations to boost its circular battery economy, and Japan/South Korea provide targeted R&D grants to local firms.
Historical precedents highlight these risks. In the 20th century, Japan’s automotive technology transfers to South Korea enabled Hyundai and Samsung to become formidable competitors. India itself has previously sought to reverse-engineer foreign technology: in 2019, it imported eight large-diameter tunnel boring machines from a Chinese firm for Mumbai’s coastal road project, then refused Chinese engineers entry to disassemble and study the equipment. The attempt failed after improper handling damaged core components—with European firms declining repairs due to “Chinese patent restrictions”—forcing India to seek Chinese assistance.
Battery technology, with a lower learning threshold than complex engineering equipment, poses greater spillover risks. Key competencies like cell design, electrode material formulas, and system algorithms could be replicated through reverse engineering once production processes are localized in India. While the Hithium-Reliance agreement includes intellectual property (IP) and confidentiality clauses, enforcing these in practice remains challenging. Gray areas persist, such as 界定 technology ownership in joint R&D or local patent registrations—potentially blurring the line between licensed and indigenous technology.
For Hithium and other Chinese high-tech firms, the Indian market presents a dual challenge: tapping into a fast-growing new energy sector while safeguarding core technologies. As energy storage batteries join photovoltaics and rare earths as China’s key industrial “trump cards,” protecting this technology is not just a corporate concern but a matter of national strategic interest. Balancing market expansion with IP protection—through measures like controlled technology transfers, core material supply chains, and software licensing—will be critical to sustaining long-term competitiveness.
The outcome of this collaboration—whether it becomes a model for win-win tech cooperation or a cautionary tale of spillover—will shape the future of Sino-Indian new energy competition for years to come.
