Now Reading: JSW Group halts Rs 40,000-crore Odisha battery plant
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JSW Group halts Rs 40,000-crore Odisha battery plant
JSW Group has put its proposed battery manufacturing plant in Odisha on hold, citing the unavailability of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) technology outside China. Parth Jindal, director of JSW MG Motor India,…
JSW Group has put its proposed battery manufacturing plant in Odisha on hold, citing the unavailability of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) technology outside China. Parth Jindal, director of JSW MG Motor India, said on Wednesday that the company has not yet secured a technology tie-up for LFP cells, which are critical for electric vehicles.
"Making the cell, which is the most important part of an electric vehicle, that technology on LFP is not available anywhere in the world outside of China. And right now, they are guarding it like a weapon," Jindal said in Mumbai. The group has already commissioned cell-to-pack assembly lines through JSW Energy and JSW MG Motor India, but manufacturing the cell itself remains the challenge.
JSW Group had signed an MoU with the Odisha government in February 2024 to set up a 50 GWh battery plant at Naraj in Cuttack, with a proposed investment of Rs 40,000 crore. The project is on hold until the company finds a technology partner.
Indian Opinion Analysis
China controls roughly 70% of global LFP cathode production, according to industry estimates, making it the dominant source for the technology that powers most entry-level and mid-range EVs. Indian firms betting on domestic cell manufacturing must either license Chinese patents or develop their own chemistry, a long and capital-intensive process. The JSW project is one of the largest single battery investments announced under India's production-linked incentive scheme for ACC batteries, which offers Rs 18,100 crore in subsidies over five years. Without a technology partner, the company risks losing its eligibility window. The next signal to watch is whether JSW pursues a licensing deal with a Chinese firm, a joint development agreement with a South Korean or European battery maker, or pivots to an alternative cell chemistry such as sodium-ion.
Source: thehindu.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
