Amara Raja Batteries Limited has begun work on a new lithium-ion battery manufacturing Giga plant in Telangana, with an investment of Rs 9,500 crore planned over the next decade. The foundation stone was laid for Telangana’s first Giga factory in Mahabubnagar district by the Minister for Industries and Commerce, K.T. Rama Rao, along with the founder of Amara Raja Group, Dr. Ramachandra N. Galla, and Chairman & Managing Director of Amara Raja Batteries Limited (ARBL), Jayadev Galla.
The new plant is a significant step forward for Telangana’s ambitions to be a hub for electric vehicles and sustainable mobility, said Rama Rao, and it represents the largest investment in India in this sector. Amara Raja Advanced Cell Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (ARACT), a wholly-owned subsidiary of ARBL, had signed an MoU with the Telangana government in December 2022 to work on Li-ion cell chemistries suited to Indian subcontinent conditions. The ground-breaking ceremony officially marked the beginning of Amara Raja Giga Corridor, which will produce Lithium Cell and Battery Packs with a capacity of up to 16 GWh and up to 5 GWh respectively.
The company plans to invest Rs 9,500 crore in a phased manner over the next 10 years. The first phase, which is expected to be completed within 2-3 years, will involve an investment of between Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 2,000 crore, with funds arranged through the company’s internal sources. The facility is expected to create direct employment for about 4,500 people and a similar number of indirect jobs, which is expected to make a significant contribution to the socio-economic development of the region.
In addition to manufacturing, the new facility will also include an advanced energy research and innovation center, the Amara Raja E Ve Energy Labs, which will have advanced laboratories and testing infrastructure for material research, prototyping, product lifecycle analysis, and Proof of Concept demonstration. This center will cater to the development needs of Amara Raja and provide a range of facilities open to other players in the energy and mobility ecosystem.
Speaking on the occasion, Ramachandra N. Galla said that Amara Raja’s core purpose has always been to build institutions that provide better opportunities to more and more people, and this new plant will transform the region in the years to come. Vikramadithya Gourineni, Executive Director of ARBL, said the company expects this foray to be a significant needle-mover in India’s energy transition.
The minister also said that the plant is coming up with zero liquid discharge, and some people were spreading rumors that the plant would cause pollution in the area. He offered to make transport arrangements for all those who have doubts to visit the location of the plant and satisfy themselves.
