Union Power Minister Manohar Lal met on Friday with John Podesta, senior advisor to the US President for International Climate Policy, to explore avenues for upgrading India’s energy infrastructure and manufacturing capacity.

According to a ministry press release, the power minister emphasized the longstanding bilateral partnership between India and the US, highlighting the shared commitment to a ‘clean’ energy future that fosters economic growth and development.

In his remarks, Podesta said that India is a valuable partner, and the two countries support each other in building resilient supply chains and an investment-led partnership strategy.

He also remarked that India and the US can collaborate on areas such as clean energy, energy storage systems, and energy efficiency.

Both sides explored the possibility of technical exchanges on efforts to upgrade grid transmission to handle future load growth.

Discussions also covered policy consultations and potential financial support to advance these modernization efforts.

They discussed opportunities to expand India’s manufacturing capacity in critical areas like large transformers, aiming to bolster domestic production and reduce dependency on imports.

The talks also delved into the possibilities of state-to-state partnerships on long-duration energy storage studies, with further collaboration on grid-scale battery storage solutions.

The discussions further highlighted the importance of stimulating manufacturing projects and policies to increase India’s capacity to build, deploy, and export high-efficiency air conditioning systems and fans.