Weeks after securing two investments in the lithium ion cell manufacturing segment, Telangana is set to see a few more investments in the EV ecosystem including the recycling sector.
Hyderabad: Weeks after securing two investments in the lithium ion cell manufacturing segment, Telangana is set to see a few more investments in the EV ecosystem including the recycling sector. The State is now in talks with a few other players to bring their operations to Telangana. Also, State’s focus is on new chemistries that will reduce the use of the various materials apart from aiding in reuse as well as efficient recovery of metals.
Amara Raja Batteries Limited, one of India’s leading industrial and automotive battery majors, had recently announced its plans to invest Rs 9,500 crore in Mahbubnagar district over ten years. It will set up a Lithium Cell Gigafactory with an ultimate capacity up to 16 GWh and a Battery Pack Assembly Unit up to 5 GWh. The unit will come up at Divitipally and create employment to about 4,500 people.
Before this, Telangana bagged one more mega project in the Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Solutions sector. Agger Technologies, a subsidiary of Attero subsidiary, said it will invest Rs 600 cr for manufacturing Li-batteries and cells. The project will provide employment to more than 300 people.
“Our progressive policy covers Energy Storage Systems. Due to this, we have been able to attract significant cell manufacturing (investments) in the State. Apart from the two announcements that have been made, we are in active discussions with a couple of major players also. We know that battery recycling is also an important component of the electric vehicle activities. We are close to finalising one very prominent company which is in the recycling space for our State,” IT and Industries Principal Secretary Jayesh Ranjan told Telangana Today.
Earlier, IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao, at the announcement of Amara Raja’s unit, termed the company’s move as a bold and courageous decision to enter a new frontier of the lithium ion segment.
With Amara Raja’s plant, TS will be one of the few in the world to host a lithium cell gigafactory. The investment will spur further development of EV and advanced cell chemistry ecosystems in Telangana, creating manufacturing hubs and creating many direct and indirect jobs.
Amara Raja Batteries has incorporated a new energy subsidiary named Amara Raja Advanced Cell Technologies. This will encompass lithium cells and battery packs for the e-mobility markets. Amara Raja, which has been making lead acid batteries for long, has also been working on the lithium ion cell chemistries that are suited for the Indian subcontinent conditions at its Tirupati unit. Lithium is not available in India.
“Our focus is on new chemistries for efficient use and recovery of materials used on the lithium cell,” Amara Raja Batteries Chairman Galla Jayadev had said then. The company announced that recovery and recycling will be key parts of the factory proposed in Telangana. Amara Raja’s initial facilities will include a first-of-its-kind advanced energy research and innovation centre called Amara Raja E-Hub near Hyderabad. It will have advanced laboratories and testing infrastructure for material research, prototyping, product life cycle analysis and proof of concept demonstration.
Attero is into recycling, upcycling, li-ion recycling, reverse logistics, consulting and carbon footprint reduction services, and is the only producer of cobalt, lithium, tin and rare metals, which are otherwise not mined in India. Using advanced recycling operations, it is India’s largest producer of tin, the Noida-headquartered company said on its portal.
150 EV charging stations soon in Hyderabad
Telangana State Renewable Energy Development Corporation (TSREDCO) Chairman Y Satish Reddy said 150 electric vehicle charging stations would be available in Hyderabad soon.
Satish Reddy, who inspected the electric vehicle charging machine installed near Durgam Cheruvu on Wednesday, said the State government was promoting the use of electric vehicles as part of pollution control and that efforts were being made to create infrastructure to increase the use of electric vehicles. As part of this, along with Hyderabad, charging centres were being set up across the State.
Facilities for vehicle parking and rest for vehicle owners at the charging centres were being provided to ensure that the vehicles coming for charging do not face any difficulty. The charging of the car at the REDCO charging centres would be completed in just 30 to 45 minutes. Motorists could charge vehicles at a very low price at REDCO centres compared to other companies, he said.
Satish Reddy stated that Telangana was the only State to pre-determine the service fee as part of the establishment of charging centres.