Amara Raja Batteries, one of the country's leading industrial and automotive battery companies, is willing to participate in government-sponsored initiatives aimed at sourcing lithium from within the country.
The company which claims to be making rapid progress in establishing the Gigafactory to manufacture lithium-ion batteries and wants to complete the first phase by April 2026, believes it can support the government to be self-sufficient in lithium-ion production.
C. Niranjan, AVP and Head of Operations and Projects, Amara Raja Batteries, said, "As we are going to be one of the key players in lithium cell manufacturing at a gigascale, we can plan to participate in this important initiative from the government.”
According to him, India is marching ahead in the manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles and electronic devices, and the discovery of a significant deposit of lithium in J&K will definitely put the country on the global EV roadmap and help in meeting domestic demand.
Niranjan, however, emphasised that one needs to take cognisance of the lithium recourse and purity of the metal discovered. "The lithium discovered in J&K is G3, which has a low level of confidence, and once it moves to the G1 category, then it will become viable." Globally, only 27% of the resources are found to be commercially viable, and if we replicate the same rate on the lithium reserve in J&K, then it could be 1.5 MnT.”
Amara Raja Batteries had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Telangana in December last year to establish research and manufacturing facilities for lithium-ion battery manufacturing in Mahbubnagar district, Telangana.
The corporation intends to invest more than Rs 9,500 crore over the next ten years. The initial facilities would feature the 'Amara Raja E-Hub,' a first-of-its-kind advanced energy research and innovation centre in Hyderabad.
This facility will provide cutting-edge laboratories and testing facilities for material research, prototyping, product lifecycle analysis, and proof-of-concept demonstrations. This will meet Amara Raja's growth needs while also providing a variety of facilities open to other partners in the energy and mobility ecosystem, the company added.