Amara Raja Batteries and the Government of Telangana sign MoU for the state’s first Lithium-ion Battery Gigafactory
- The proposed facility at Mahbubnagar district in Telangana will have a Lithium Cell Gigafactory with an ultimate capacity of up to 16 GWh and a Battery Pack Assembly unit of up to 5 GWh
- Amara Raja Batteries intends to invest INR 9,500 crores in the region over the next ten years
Amara Raja Batteries Limited (ARBL), one of India’s leading industrial and automotive battery majors signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Telangana to establish state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery research and manufacturing facilities in Mahbubnagar district, Telangana. Following necessary approvals, the company intends to invest more than INR 9500 crores over the next ten years. Mr Jayadev Galla, Chairman and Managing Director of Amara Raja Batteries, made the announcement in the presence of Shri K T Rama Rao, Hon’ble Minister for Industries and Commerce, IT, E&C, and MA & UD, and Shri Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce, IT, E&C, and other industry dignitaries. Amara Raja Batteries has chosen the state of Telangana to house the Amara Raja Giga Corridor as the latest in its pivot to become an ‘Energy & Mobility enterprise. The initial facilities would include the Amara Raja E-hub, a first-of-its-kind advanced energy research and innovation centre in Hyderabad. This facility will have cutting-edge laboratories and testing infrastructure for material research, prototyping, product life cycle analysis, and Proof of Concept demonstrations. This will meet Amara Raja’s development needs while also providing a variety of facilities open to other players in the energy and mobility ecosystem.
Amara Raja envisions the E-hub as a much-needed catalyst for multi-stakeholder collaboration and entrepreneurship in these emerging sectors, in line with the Government of India’s “Atmanirbhar Bharat” vision. Amara Raja would also establish a commercial-scale pilot plant and the first Giga scale cell production facility as part of its journey towards Giga scale manufacturing of advanced cell technology products. To that end, the company announced the formation of a subsidiary called Amara Raja Advanced Cell Technologies Pvt. Ltd. on November 3, 2022.
Ltd. Amara Raja has been developing Li-ion cell chemistries that are specifically suited for Indian subcontinent conditions, and she already supplies lithium battery packs and chargers to some two- and three-wheel OEMs.
Mr Jayadev Galla, said, “This strategic partnership with the Government of Telangana is a giant leap for Amara Raja and will bring in the impetus for innovations in sustainable technologies for the whole region, in addition to generating employment opportunities. We have had a long association with the state and are excited to finally have the opportunity to establish an industrial base here.” Mr Vikramadithya Gourineni, Executive Director, of New Energy Business, said “This latest step is in line with the ‘Energy & Mobility’ roadmap that we laid out last year. Our ambition is to develop a robust Indian ecosystem with R&D, incubation, testing, and manufacturing – a Giga Corridor for emerging technologies in Energy and Mobility.”
Congratulating the company on the announcements, Shri K T Rama Rao said, “Telangana has been a frontrunner in adopting sustainability, and it is a proud moment for the state to welcome the country’s largest-ever investment in the lithium-ion cell manufacturing sector. Our aim is to become the most electrified state in India, and having a Gigafactory in Telangana further strengthens our aspiration to become an EV manufacturing hub and spearhead the EV revolution in India.”
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