The country’s largest automotive battery maker, Exide Industries, has announced an investment of ₹6,000 crore in Karnataka for setting up one of India’s largest giga factories for advanced cell chemistry technology. The announcement came after Exide MD and CEO Subir Chakraborty met with Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday.
The company has sought land in the Haraluru Industrial area for setting up the factory, according to a tweet by the Industries and Commerce department of Karnataka government.
“This will be one of #India’s largest Giga factories for Advanced Cell Chemistry Technology and land has been requested in the #Haraluru Industrial Area,” the tweet said.
Exide had recently announced that it has entered into a multi-year technical collaboration agreement with SVOLT Energy Technology (SVOLT) for technology and the necessary know-how for manufacturing lithium-ion cell in India.
As part of the agreement, SVOLT will grant Exide an irrevocable right and license to use, exploit and commercialise necessary technology and know-how owned by them for lithium-ion cell manufacturing in India. Additionally, it will also provide the support required for setting up of a green field manufacturing plant on a turnkey basis, the company had said.
Lithium-ion cell manufacturing
Exide, which had recently received board approval for setting up a multi-gigawatt lithium-ion cell manufacturing plant, is in the process of forming a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) by way of a wholly owned subsidiary for carrying out the manufacturing business.
The company has participated in the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage, issued by the Ministry of Heavy Industries.
Exide has been adopting new technologies and has consistently evolved its manufacturing processes to provide the latest products and solutions to its customers. The company has already set up a factory in JV with Leclanche SA, Switzerland, which is equipped with fully automated lithium-ion assembly lines for battery packs and modules. The factory has started production and will offer energy solutions that are scalable and eco-friendly.