Battery maker Amara Raja has broken ground on Telangana’s first gigafactory for lithium cell and battery pack manufacturing in the Mahbubnagar district.

The manufacturing unit will have a capacity of up to 16 GWh, catering to domestic and international markets.

The gigafactory is expected to create direct employment for about 4,500 people and a similar number of indirect jobs.

The Telangana government had recently entered into a memorandum of understanding n MOU with Amara Raja Advanced Cell Technologies, which has been working on Li-ion cell chemistries specifically suited for the Indian sub-continent conditions and already supplies lithium battery packs and chargers to 2 and 3-wheeler original equipment manufacturers.

Vikramadithya Gourineni, Executive Director of Amara Raja Batteries, said the company’s foray into the lithium cell and battery pack manufacturing unit would be a significant needle-mover in India’s energy transition.

T. Rama Rao, Minister for Industries and Commerce, stated that electric mobility remains a focus area for the Telangana government. The government is committed to developing the right infrastructure and ecosystem to promote and adopt electric vehicles.

The “Amara Raja Giga Corridor” includes an advanced energy research and innovation center known as the Amara Raja E +Ve Energy Labs.

The facility will be equipped with advanced laboratories and testing infrastructure for material research, prototyping, product life cycle analysis, and Proof of Concept demonstration, serving the development needs of Amara Raja and other players in the energy and mobility ecosystem.

Last January, Amara Raja was one of the 10 bidders in the Ministry of Heavy Industries’ tender to set up production capacities for 50 GWh of advanced chemistry cell for energy storage under the production-linked incentive program.

In November, the company had incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary − Amara Raja Advance Cell Company – to manufacture Li-ion batteries. The company had said it would invest ₹5 billion (~$60.81 million) in equity, loan, or other kinds of securities in one or more tranches.

In January this year, Amara Raja and Petronas Ventures had led a $40 million Series B funding for Bengaluru-headquartered advanced battery and fuel cell technology company Log9 Materials.

The company recorded a consolidated net profit of ₹2.02 billion (~$24.54 million) in the second quarter of the financial year 2023, a jump of 40% year-over-year.