Tata Group to Build Rs 13,000 Crore EV Battery Plant in Gujarat

India’s industrial conglomerate Tata Group has signed an MoU with the state government of Gujarat to build a lithium-ion cell factory in the state. As per the terms of the agreement, the lithium-ion cell factory will come up with an investment of about Rs 13,000 crore ($1.6 billion) in Sanand. The deal was signed by Agratas Energy Storage Solutions which is a unit of Tata Group.

As per reports, the board of Tata Sons had taken the decision to build an EV battery plant recently. The initial capacity of the battery cell plant will be 20 GWh. In the second phase of expansion of the factory, the capacity could be doubled.

At present, Tata Motors already has a plant in Sanand, Ahmedabad. The company has also acquired the Ford Motors’ plant in Sanand adjoining its existing facility. The two plants will be integrated in about a year and the work is on.

The official statement by the company held that the construction of the EV battery plant is expected to begin in less than three years.

The joint statement said, “As the state government commits to a vision to reduce carbon emissions by increasing the production of electric vehicles, reliance on lithium-ion batteries will also increase significantly as EV usage increases. This project will help in establishing a lithium-ion cell manufacturing ecosystem in the state.”

Previously, Tata Motors owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) revealed its plan to roll out EVs with an investment of £15 billion in the coming five years. Its new EV manufacturing is expected to take place in the United Kingdom.

The last year sales data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), reveals that the Indian EV market was dominated by Tata Motors that witnessed a five-fold jump in electric cars. Tata Motors sold 15,198 units last fiscal as against 3,523 units in 2020-21 and captured a market share of more than 85% in the vertical.

In India, Ola Electric has also planned to build a battery cell manufacturing plant in India with a capacity of up to 50 GWh as part of its broader electrification push. Smaller efforts are already underway by startups, notably Log9 to build cells in India. Presently, the country imports virtually all its requirements from China, with the cells being assembled into battery packs in the country.