JSW Group Chairman Sajjan Jindal has confirmed plans to invest INR 40,000 crore in Odisha to set up battery and electric vehicle manufacturing facilities
The investments, which will be implemented in phases, will be used to establish manufacturing facilities with an annual production capacity of 100,000 commercial vehicles, 300,000 electric vehicles, and 50 gigawatt-hours for mobility and energy storage systems. This would bring the group's total proposed investments in the state to INR 200,000 crore across the automotive, mining, steel, energy, and cement industries.
After all approvals, construction will begin by the end of this year and the integrated facility could be operational within 2-3 years (around FY27), informed sources said.
Jindal said that at this “critical stage where we have to resolve issues related to greenhouse gas emissions in a quick and affordable time frame and reduce the huge crude oil import bill, which currently stands at about INR 100 billion, three strategies are quick and must be implemented to achieve these goals. (Making) batteries with the right technology at affordable prices, electric cars, and commercial vehicles at the same price as combustion vehicles and (finally) decoupling the supply chain from China.”
In addition to vehicle and battery manufacturing units, JSW Group will set up factories to locally manufacture automotive components, including electric motors, through strategic suppliers and vendors, a copper smelter (1 million tons per year), and a lithium foundry (60 thousand tons per year). And an advanced research and development center. The total investment of INR 40 billion is expected to create job opportunities for 11,000 people.
“A brief statistic explains the importance of this particular project: China has sold 10 million electric cars and we have sold only 0.1 million. China has built a 2,000 gigawatt battery factory, and we have not built a 1 gigawatt one yet. There is a lot more to be done,” Jindal said, adding that, “the group will focus on cutting-edge research to produce vehicles designed by and for Indians.”
JSW Group will set up an EV and EV battery manufacturing project in Naraj, Cuttack. The state-of-the-art battery manufacturing plant, with a capacity of 50 GWh, will be the world's largest single-site project in this sector. The company will install a vehicle and electrical components manufacturing plant in the same integrated complex.
The investment needed to deploy electric vehicles and batteries will be made in two phases. In the first phase, JSW plans to invest INR 25 billion in the state, employing more than 4,000 people. In the second phase, the group will invest the remaining INR 15 billion to develop a complex for manufacturing electric vehicle components, including copper and lithium smelters.
“Our goal is to revolutionize the automotive industry by producing high-quality batteries and electric vehicles that are not only affordable but also technologically advanced,” Jindal said. He further added, “We seek to redefine the way people get around and empower their lives by improving the penetration of electric vehicles.”
Separately, JSW Group signed an agreement with China's SAIC Motor to acquire a 35% stake in Indian subsidiary MG Motor India for an undisclosed sum to jointly run automotive operations in the country. Under the agreement reached between the two companies earlier this financial year, the Chinese auto major will continue to support the joint venture with advanced technology and products to provide mobility solutions to the Indian consumer.
Jindal said Odisha could be the first state in the country where combustion engines used in transport and mining sectors can be phased out. “Our footprint in the state spans various sectors including mining, steel, power, cement, etc. We have so far invested around INR 35 billion and there is another INR 1.25 billion in the pipeline as well, apart from INR 40 billion in this particular project, he said.
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