Amara Raja E-Hub to come up in Hyderabad

Amara Raja Batteries will set up a first of its kind energy research centre, Amara Raja E-hub, in Hyderabad.

Hyderabad: Amara Raja Batteries will set up a first of its kind energy research centre, Amara Raja E-hub, in Hyderabad.

This will be equipped with laboratories and testing infrastructure for material research, prototyping, product lifecycle analysis, and proof of concept demonstration.

“We are looking to set this facility up near the Hyderabad airport in about 8-10 acre. It will be accessible from the city as well as the proposed factory. The location will be finalised soon,” said Vikramaditya Gourineni, Executive Director, New Energy Business.

The E-Hub will employ about 400 people initially and later look to double the workforce. Replying to a query, Amara Raja Batteries Chairman and Managing Director Jayadev Galla said the battery maker reached saturation in both of its sites in Tirupati and in Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh and reached maximum capacity.

“Lot of our market is in the northern region of India. So, when we look at expanding further, we will be looking at how to diversify our location in terms of better logistics to reach our customer base. We would be looking at more regional diversification for that. We are not reducing our footprint in Andhra Pradesh, we are committed to Andhra Pradesh,” he said.

Reacting to another query, Galla said there are some issues with the Pollution Control Board of AP that are being solved through the legal system right now.

“We will replicate our non-migratory jobs model in Telangana to create jobs for locals,” he said. The Lithium Ion battery factory is part of Amara Raja’s plans to become an `energy and mobility’ enterprise.