Amara Raja Batteries picks T’gana now

PNS|Hyderabad

Amara Raja Batteries Ltd said that it intends to invest Rs 9,500 crore in the next 10 years in Telangana to establish research and manufacturing facilities for lithium-ion batteries. The company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Telangana government on Friday to set up research and manufacturing facilities for lithium-ion batteries in Mahbubnagar district, Amara Raja Batteries said in a regulatory filing.

“It is a proud moment to welcome the country’s largest-ever investment in the lithium-ion cell manufacturing sector. Having a battery plant in Telangana strengthens the State’s aim to become an EV manufacturing hub and spearhead the EV revolution in India. It reinforces Telangana’s position as an ideal destination for EV and Advanced Cell Chemistry (ACC) manufacturing. This is a crucial step in the direction of achieving sustainable mobility, and making India self-reliant,” Industries Minister KTR said.

With this Telangana is now amongst the few places in the world having a lithium-ion Giga factory, KTR said. Over the next 10 years, the company intends to invest around Rs 9,500 crore, after getting the necessary approvals.

Initial facilities would include an energy research and innovation centre in Hyderabad, dubbed the Amara Raja E-hub. It will be equipped with advanced laboratories and testing infrastructure for material research, prototyping, product life cycle analysis and proof of concept demonstration, the company said.

‘This will cater to the development needs of Amara Raja as well as provide facilities open to other players in the energy and mobility field,” the filing said.

Amara Raja Batteries Chairman & Managing Director Jayadev Galla said the strategic partnership with the Telangana government would bring in an impetus for innovations in sustainable technologies in the entire region, in addition to generating jobs. He said that this is the first time they have selected a place outside Chittoor and entered Telangana.

“’We have had a long association with TS and are excited to finally have an opportunity to establish an industrial base here,” he added.

The company said that as part of its journey towards giga-scale manufacturing of advanced cell technology products, it would be establishing a commercial-scale pilot plant and the first giga-scale cell production facility.

Amara Raja said it has been working on Li-ion cell chemistries specifically suited for Indian conditions and already supplies lithium battery packs and chargers to two and three-wheeler OEMs.