US-based International Battery Company announced an investment of US$1 billion in Karnataka as India is actively encouraging locally sourced batteries to meet rising EV demand.
Deccan Herald and Bloomberg reported that International Battery Company Signed an MoU with the Karnataka government to invest US$1 billion to establish a recyclable lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility near Bangalore. The plant will begin production of batteries by 2025 and ramp up the capacity to 10GW by 2028.
Deccan Herald quoted M. B. Patil, minister of large and medium scale industries of Karnataka, saying that after the realization of the project, Karnataka would have its second lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility, thus paving the way for becoming the front runner as the top lithium-ion battery manufacturing state in India.
According to International Battery Company's website, the company is engaged in producing I-NMC prismatic cells, with the R&D in the US, a pilot plant built in South Korea, and mass production planned in India.
India's official data shows that imports of lithium-ion batteries into the country are growing rapidly, with import value for the product rising from US$1.832 billion in fiscal 2022 (April 2021 to March 2022) to US$2.876 billion in fiscal 2023, a nearly 60% growth year-on-year.
India launched the INR181 billion Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for advanced chemistry cells to encourage local manufacturing of batteries to meet the rising demands for EVs, consumer electronics, and telecom towers. Ola Electric, Rajesh Exports, and Reliance New Energy are awarded PLI benefits for the scheme. India is looking to re-auction for 20GW capacity to replace Hyundai Global Motors, which was found to have no connection with South Korea's Hyundai Motor, reports The Economic Times.
Source: Department of Commerce of India, August 2023
