Country's first lithium-ion cell giga factory to be set up in Gujarat by Tata Group

The plant will help in making a significant contribution towards the development of an electric vehicle ecosystem in Gujarat, officials said.

Gandhinagar: Tata Group will set up the country's first lithium-ion cell manufacturing giga factory in Gujarat.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard was signed between the Gujarat government and the Tata Group-backed subsidiary Agratas Energy Storage Solution in the presence of chief minister Bhupendra Patel on Friday. Tata Group will invest Rs 13,000 crore in this project.

The move is part of Centre's initiative to reduce carbon emissions and to create a chain of electric vehicles. Once the proposed factory comes up in Gujarat, it will become the leading state of lithium ion cell manufacturing in the country. Vijay Nehra, CEO of Tata Group subsidiary Agartas Energy Storage Solutions and secretary, science and technology, Government of Gujarat inked the agreement.

The lithium ion cell manufacturing plant will have an initial manufacturing capacity of 20 Gigawatt hours (GWh) and will provide direct and indirect employment opportunities to more than 13,000 people after the plant becomes operational. The manufacturing capacity of the plant is expected to double in the second phase, officials said.

Notably, the Gujarat government is trying to reduce carbon emission by stressing on manufacturing of electric vehicles and green clean energy along with reducing the consumption of fossil fuels. In such a situation, the proposed plant will help Gujarat government in its endeavour of creating an electric vehicle ecosystem in the state.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel assured full support from Gujarat government for the success of this project. Chief Principal Secretary Kailasanathan, Chief Secretary Rajkumar, Additional Chief Secretary Pankaj Joshi and several senior officials of Tata Group were present during the programme.