- Sources said that the decision to set up the EV battery plant at Sanand was taken around a week ago at a Tata Sons board meeting
- Tata will initially invest Rs 13,000 crore to have a manufacturing capacity of 20 gigawatts
Recently, Tata Group subsidiary Agratas Energy Storage Solutions Private Limited signed an agreement with the government of Gujarat to set up a gigafactory for Lithium-ion batteries in Sanand. Being touted as India’s first gigafactory for Li-ion batteries, Tata will initially invest Rs 13,000 crore to have a manufacturing capacity of 20 gigawatts (GW) units. According to a joint statement from the parties, the capacity could be doubled in a second phase of expansion. It is noteworthy that Tata Motors already has an operational plant in Sanand. The company also acquired the adjoining Ford Motors’ plant recently, and the process of integration of the two plants is underway. The MoU-signing ceremony was held in Gandhinagar, in the presence of Gujarat CM Sh Bhupendra Patel and officials from Tata Group.
The signing of this outline deal with the state government is seen as a major step in building India’s own electric vehicle (EV) supply chain. As per the joint statement, the work on the plant was expected to start within three years. The partners expect the generation of about 13,000 employment opportunities. The statement added that this project will help in establishing a lithium-ion cell manufacturing ecosystem in the state. It must be noted that Tata leads the EV sales in India.
Notably, the country’s first Li-ion battery manufacturing plant was set up at the Maruti Suzuki Supplier Park in Ahmedabad by TDS Lithium-Ion Battery Gujarat Pvt Ltd (TDSG)—a joint venture of Toshiba, Denso and Suzuki Motor.
