JSW Group, which recently bought a 35% stake in MG Motor India, is targeting to expand its cell and battery manufacturing capacity at its proposed facility to 50 GWh between 2028 and 2030, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The company is planning its cell and battery manufacturing program in multiple phases. In the first phase, it is targeting a cell and battery manufacturing capacity of 10 GWh by 2026, and then expanding it further to 50 GWh in the second phase.
In February, JSW Group signed an MoU with the Odisha government to set up an electric vehicle and battery manufacturing project in Cuttack and Paradip, with an investment of Rs 40,000 crore.
The battery cell manufacturing will primarily cater to the group’s captive consumption for electric vehicles and other battery energy storage programs. JSW Group has an electric vehicle subsidiary, JSW Green Mobility and a battery storage systems subsidiary, JSW BSS.
Meanwhile, sources said that JSW Group is in talks with major battery makers for a technology tie-up in cell and battery manufacturing.
India is currently in the nascent stages of manufacturing lithium-ion batteries, which is of crucial importance to electric vehicles and renewable energy storage applications. The country depends on imports from China, Japan, and South Korea for lithium-ion batteries.
India’s battery manufacturing capacity is projected to reach 110-1500 GWh by the end of this decade. The government has rolled out a Rs 18,100-crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to set up advanced chemistry cell (ACC) manufacturing facilities in India, with a target of achieving 50GWh manufacturing capacity.
Domestic battery manufacturing is expected to aid electric vehicle adoption and localise the supply chain. Battery cost typically makes up for around 40% of the price of an electric vehicle. The high cost of acquisition, primarily due to higher battery cost, is seen as a major hurdle in electric vehicle adoption in the country.
JSW Neo Energy, JSW Group’s renewable energy subsidiary, was among the seven companies that bid for a 10 GWh capacity under the government’s production-linked incentive for advanced chemistry cells. The capacity, was, however, awarded to Reliance Industries Ltd.
Apart from JSW Group, several companies - Ola Electric, Reliance Industries, Amara Raja, Exide Industries, GODI India, Rajesh Exports are also setting up their giga factories to manufacture battery cells in India.
Reliance Industries’ battery Gigafactory is expected to start operations in the second half of 2025. The plant, which will have an annual capacity of 30 GWh, will initially assemble battery systems and packs, later expanding to cell manufacturing and chemical production.
Recently, Amara Raja announced a technology partnership with Gotion High-Tech to license Gotion’s technology for making cells in both cylindrical and prismatic form factors. ENDS
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