Polycab India developing grid-forming inverter technology, CEO says

Polycab India is developing grid-forming inverter technology, according to CEO Anurag Agarwal. Agarwal stated that the company is working on the research and development aspect of this technology and expects to release a solution soon.

Agarwal argued that the future of the market lies with grid-forming inverters. He noted that grid instability and blackouts are currently common occurrences, predicting that going forward, the market will focus exclusively on grid-forming inverters. These devices are designed to support grid stability, a capability distinct from standard grid-following inverters.

Market position and current portfolio

Polycab India CEO Anurag Agarwal notes that the firm commands more than 32% of the Indian market for on-grid rooftop inverters. Its present utility inverter series spans the 350 kW range, with intentions to increase capacity to 500 kW shortly. The company additionally offers a combined hybrid inverter coupled with a lithium-ion battery. This product mix exists amid changing regulatory rules; Luminity indicated that the Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Phase II initiative has been merged into the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana.

Technology and strategy details

• Polycab India’s strategy centers on lithium-ion and lead-free battery technologies, explicitly excluding lead-acid solutions.
• Grid-forming inverters actively regulate grid frequency, whereas conventional grid-following inverters rely on connected battery storage to manage frequency.
• No specific timeline has been provided for the launch of the company’s grid-forming inverter product.

Background

On 3 November 2026, Luminity disclosed that Polycab India’s FMEG segment saw a 124% year-on-year surge in revenue during the second quarter of FY27, attributed to solar inverter trading. At that point, the firm’s solar operations were confined strictly to trading, with no in-house manufacturing of modules or inverters. Aditya Nathany, the head of investor relations at Polycab India, clarified the scope by stating, "we are only doing inverters in the solar category."

The company’s involvement in the solar sector traces back to 2012 with the introduction of solar DC cables, expanding to on-grid inverters in 2016. By the time of that earlier report, Polycab India intended to release a 500 kW utility-scale inverter platform within the year and aimed to broaden its offerings to cover hybrid inverters and battery energy storage systems.

Hybrid inverter sales strategy

Agarwal explained that consumers increasingly prefer to utilize self-generated electricity rather than depend entirely on selling surplus power to the grid. He indicated that demand for these hybrid systems is expected to extend across various markets rather than remain restricted to a particular region.

What to watch

The PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, which targets rooftop solar installations on one crore homes, is expected to drive demand for hybrid inverters.