Amara Raja likely to boost planned battery capacity at Gigafactory by over 50%

Amara Raja Energy and Mobility Ltd is considering a significant increase in its proposed lithium-ion cell manufacturing capacity at its upcoming Gigafactory to more than 25 GWh annually, according to a senior company official.

The company believes a higher scale will give them a competitive edge globally. “We recently announced about 16 GWh capacity. But now we are recalibrating that and we are talking about it being be more than 25 GWh,” said Amara Raja Batteries' Chief Operating Officer Niranjan C.

The Hyderabad-based company is setting up a Rs 9,500-crore Gigafactory for lithium-ion cells and battery packs in Telangana. As per the initial plan, the company was targeting a capacity of 16 GWh for cells and 5 GWh for battery packs over the next decade. The first phase of the factory, with a capacity of 2 GWh, is expected to be ready by the end of the next financial year.

Battery makers in India are of the opinion that Gigafactories with a scale of more than 20 GWh give them a competitive advantage globally. Currently, advanced chemistry cell manufacturing is at a nascent stage in the country. India’s battery manufacturing capacity is likely to reach 150 GWh by the end of this decade. Apart from Amara Raja, Ola Electric, Exide Industries, Reliance Industries and GODI India are setting up Gigafactories in India.

Recently, Amara Raja announced a technology partnership with Gotion High-Tech’s subsidiary Gotion-InoBat-Batteries (GIB) EnergyX Slovakia to license Gotion’s technology for manufacturing lithium-ion cells in both cylindrical and prismatic form factors.

Autocar Professional has reported that the company is looking at an LFP cell manufacturing capacity of 4-6 GWh in the initial stage at the Gigafactory, but the timeline is not clear.

Amara Raja also has a tie-up with another Chinese company, with which it has jointly developed an NMC-based 2170 cylindrical cell. The Gigafactory will initially start commercial production with NMC cells, which will be mainly for the two-wheelers.

Amara Raja’s biggest competitor Exide Industries is also setting up a Gigafactory for lithium-ion cells in Bengaluru with a capacity of 12 GWh. The first phase of the project with a capacity of 6GWh is expected to be completed in 2025.

Exide has partnered with China-based SVOLT Energy Technology, which develops and manufactures lithium-ion batteries and storage solutions for multiple applications.

Amara Raja is among the seven bidders for the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for 10 GWh Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Manufacturing. ENDS

Also read: Amara Raja to invest around Rs 3,000 crore in 2 years

 Also read: Exide Industries to invest Rs 1,000 crore for lithium-ion cell manufacturing in FY25