Exide Industries to foray into Li-ion cell manufacturing, to set up multi-gigawatt plant

Battery maker Exide Industries announced its foray into lithium-ion (Li-ion) cell manufacturing and said it will set up a multi-gigawatt plant for it.

Exide Industries MD and CEO Subir Chakraborty said lithium-ion battery-based storage solutions will gain prominence, for both automotive and industrial applications.

"The board of directors of company at its meeting held today i.e. 21st December 2021 accorded in-principle approval to set up a green field multi-gigawatt Li-ion cell manufacturing facility in India," Exide Industries said in an exchange filing.

However, the company didn't disclose the exact size and location of the plant. "With the evaluation of the next steps, the company shall be sharing more details on the above as it further develops its plans," it said in a statement.

Exide Industries said it also plans to apply for and participate in the Ministry of Heavy Industries' production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for manufacturing Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) in the country. The government had in May cleared the Rs 18,100-crore scheme aimed at promoting local manufacturing by battery makers.

Calling cell manufacturing an integral part of the Li-ion battery manufacturing chain, Chakraborty said the company believes that setting up of the new plant will enable it to become more cost-competitive and better serve its customers.