Hyderabad Amara Raja Batteries Limited (ARBL), one of India’s leading industrial and automotive battery majors, held the foundation stone laying ceremony of Amara Raja advanced energy research & innovation centre called ‘E Positive Energy Labs’ at the GMR Aerocity near Hyderabad airport on Friday.

The event was attended by K T Rama Rao, Minister for Municipal Administration & Urban Development; Industries & Commerce and Information Technology, Electronics, and Communications, Government of Telangana; and Jayadev Galla, Chairman & Managing Director, ARBL, in the presence of other dignitaries from the government and industry.

This centre represents a significant leap forward in advancing cutting-edge energy solutions and solidifies Amara Raja’s commitment to innovation and sustainability. The first-of-its-kind centre in Hyderabad will be equipped with advanced laboratories and testing infrastructure for material research, prototyping, product life cycle analysis, and proof-of-concept demonstration. The centre will serve as a much-needed catalyst for multi-stakeholder collaboration and for fostering entrepreneurship in this fast-emerging sector.

The ‘E Positive Energy Labs’ aims to drive breakthroughs in energy storage, electric mobility, renewable energy integration, and more. The centre is an important milestone in Amara Raja’s journey of establishing a ‘Giga Corridor’ with investment of Rs 9,500 crore that will encompass this research facility and a Gigafactory at Divitipalli for manufacturing Li-ion cells and battery packs.

“The 'E Positive Energy Labs’ is a testament to our dedication to fostering innovation and shaping the future of energy, and it will accelerate the development of innovative solutions that address the evolving energy storage needs of our society," said Jayadev.

“India has set ambitious targets for electric mobility and renewable energy storage capabilities, we expect our new ‘E Positive Energy Labs’ to be a significant needle-mover in India's energy transition and hope to foster collaboration and innovative spirit in the Energy & Mobility space,” said Vikramadithya Gourineni, Executive Director, ARBL.

In conjunction with the launch of 'e+ Energy Labs,' Amara Raja Group also held the 'Evolve' Conclave on Advanced Battery Technologies. This event brought together the brightest minds from the industry, academia, research, and policy, to engage in insightful discussions about the advancements, challenges, and potential of battery technologies in shaping the future of energy storage and mobility.

Amara Raja’s mission with ‘Evolve’ is to foster an enriching exchange of ideas among industry leaders, policymakers, energy and mobility experts, manufacturers, and delegates. The sessions delved into the thriving EV landscape with a special emphasis on battery and energy storage technology. Speakers include – Sudhendu Sinha, Advisor, Infrastructure Connectivity & Electric Mobility at Niti Aayog; Komal Kareer, Associate, Bloomberg NEF; Prof Sagar Mitra of IIT Bombay; Swapnil Jain Co-Founder, Ather Energy; Sujai Karampuri, Director Electronics, Telangana Government; Akshay Singhal Log9 Founder; Vani Dantam NexTech Batteries COO; Tata Narasinga Rao ARCI Director; and Hariprakash B, GODI Energy CTO among others.