The Tata Group has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat State Government to set up a lithium-ion cell manufacturing plant in the state. The new plant will be constructed at an initial investment of Rs 13,000 crore and will have a production capacity of 20 gigawatt-hours (GWh). The MoU was signed by Tata Group subsidiary Tata Agratas Energy Storage Solutions Private Limited and the Secretary of Science and Technology, Government of Gujarat, Vijay Nehra.
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The plant is said to be the first to manufacture lithium-ion cells in India and will be in Sanand, where Tata already owns two passenger vehicle manufacturing facilities following its recent takeover of Ford’s plant. As per a statement work on the plant will commence within the next three years and have an initial capacity of 20 GWh which could be expanded up to 40 GWh at a later stage.
The EV industry in India has been picking up steam in recent years, particularly in the two-wheeler and three-wheeler segments. Both segments have seen a boom in the number of EVs being offered with both legacy brands and new start-ups vying for a piece of the pie.
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In the four-wheeler EV segment, Tata has gone on to firmly set itself as the frontrunner targeting the mass market segments with its range of models such as the Tiago EV, Tigor EV and Nexon EV. The brand is also expected to further expand its EV line-up in the coming years. MG Motor India too has carved out a piece of the EV space with its ZS EV while Mahindra too has entered the market with its new XUV400.
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The manufacturing of lithium-ion cells in India should help reduce costs in the long run as well as reducing the need to procure cells from outside the country. This could have a cascading effect by reducing prices for electric vehicles.
