The advanced lithium-ion technology research hub, the pilot project located at its headquarters in Tirupati, will become the country’s first lithium-ion cell manufacturing facility in the private sector over the next few years, Amara Raja Batteries CEO S Vijayanand said.
The company has a technology transfer agreement with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) since early 2019. Vijayanand said Amara Raj has already invested Rs 20 crore into the hub, excluding technology transfer and bidding fees paid to the ISRO in January 2019 when the company along with nine others won competitive bids from the national space agency.
The agreement with ISRO for the lithium-ion cell technology transfer is without any royalty payment, he said.
To recall, in August last year, Mumbai-based firm Epsilon Carbon has had set up India’s first manufacturing facility for Li-ion battery component, that is to produce graphite anode materials for Li-ion batteries.