Essel Infraprojects Ltd is planning to manufacture lithium ion batteries in India, two people directly aware of the development said.
The company is in talks to acquire lithium mines abroad and plans to set up a plant in Andhra Pradesh for manufacturing these batteries for electric cars.
The decision to invest in manufacturing lithium ion batteries by media baron Subhash Chandra, who is also a member of the Rajya Sabha, coincides with the proposal of the Prime Minister’s Office to offer incentives to promote local manufacturing of batteries and parts of electric vehicles.
Essel Infra’s ventures in this segment will be housed under a new business arm, Essel Green Mobility.
Chandra, who has announced plans to sell his solar power and media businesses, is aiming to become an end-to-end service provider in the electric vehicle ecosystem in India.
In July, Essel Infra announced an investment of ₹1,750 crore in Uttar Pradesh for setting up 250 charging stations and 1,000 battery-swapping stations across the state.
Subhash Chandra is not only interested in manufacturing and recycling of lithium ion batteries in India but he wants to cater to the entire electric mobility space with regard to public transport system.
The electric vehicle business will attain huge size in India and across the world in the decades to come and early movers will always have some advantage. He wants to manufacture the components rather than buying them from others.
Apart from manufacturing lithium ion batteries, the company is also entering the business of renting electric three-wheelers.
Reference- LiveMint