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Agratas, the battery arm of the Tata Group, is developing proprietary lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell technology for its Sanand plant in Gujarat.
The company is setting up a pilot production line for domestically designed LFP cells and a research facility in Bengaluru for battery chemistry development.
The Sanand facility is planned with an initial annual capacity of 20 GWh and is expected to begin NMC cell production by early 2027.
NMC cells at Sanand will use licensed technology from Japan's Automotive Energy Supply Corp, in contrast with the in-house LFP programme.
The push for indigenous cell design follows China's tightening of export restrictions on battery manufacturing knowledge.
| Parameter | LFP (lithium iron phosphate) | NMC (nickel manganese cobalt) |
|---|---|---|
| Cathode material | Lithium iron phosphate | Nickel, manganese and cobalt oxides |
| Thermal stability | Higher — safer under stress | Lower, requiring more thermal management |
| Cycle life | Longer | Shorter |
| Dependence on nickel and cobalt | Low | High |
| Energy density | Lower | Higher |
There is a large difference between assembling battery packs and designing the cell that goes into them. A pack can be built by anyone who can buy cells. Making a cell requires control over the material chemistry, electrode design, electrolyte formulation, the formation process that first charges a new cell, and the quality testing that decides which cells are fit to ship. Each of these is guarded intellectual property, and the licensing route — which Agratas is using for its NMC line — gives production capacity without giving ownership of the underlying knowledge. Building an in-house LFP capability is an attempt to own the chemistry outright. The strategic reason is straightforward: a licence can be withdrawn or restricted, and China's tightening of export controls on battery manufacturing knowledge has made that risk concrete for every manufacturer outside China.
Simple Analogy: Licensing a cell design is like running a restaurant on a franchisor's recipes. It works until the franchisor decides you may no longer have them.
The production linked incentive scheme approved in 2021 to build 50 GWh of domestic ACC manufacturing capacity — the policy backdrop to plants such as Sanand.
India's effort to secure lithium, cobalt, nickel and rare earths, the raw material end of the same supply chain.
Demand-side incentives for electric vehicles that create the market for domestically made cells.
Gigawatt-hour measures energy storage capacity; battery plant scale is expressed in GWh of annual output.
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Lithium iron phosphate battery chemistry, known for thermal stability and long cycle life with low nickel and cobalt content.
Nickel manganese cobalt chemistry, offering higher energy density but greater dependence on critical minerals.
Gigawatt-hour, the unit used to measure battery manufacturing capacity and stored energy.
The controlled first charge and discharge of a newly manufactured cell, a closely guarded step in cell production.
The battery manufacturing business of the Tata Group, with a plant at Sanand, Gujarat.