Exide to Pump Rs 3,000 Crore Into Lithium-Ion Plant, Eyes Rs 20,000 Crore Revenue by FY28

Exide Industries plans to invest close to Rs 3,000 crore in the second phase of its lithium-ion cell plant in Bengaluru, a move that will bring the facility’s total capacity to 12 GWh. MD and CEO Avik Roy disclosed the plan after the company’s annual general meeting on Friday.

The plant’s existing first phase, at 6 GWh capacity, has already attracted more than Rs 6,000 crore in total investment, with a further Rs 1,400 crore being added this fiscal. Roy said the facility is expected to begin generating revenue from the third quarter of the current fiscal year.

Around 3 GWh of the first phase’s capacity is expected to be used this year. Initial output will replace imported lithium iron phosphate cells for Exide’s Gujarat battery pack plant, which serves the three-wheeler segment, while the qualification process for passenger vehicle battery cells is already in progress.

‘By the end of the fiscal, we also expect supplies for certain two-wheeler battery pack applications and NMC cells for OEMs, subject to homologation and approval,’ Roy said. He described the lithium-ion venture as a strategic transformation, while confirming Exide will still invest over Rs 400 crore this fiscal in its conventional lead-acid battery business.

The company is targeting revenue of Rs 20,000 crore by FY28, up from its current Rs 17,200 crore, as India’s lithium-ion cell demand — nearly all of it currently met through imports — is projected to jump from about 20 GWh today to 130 GWh by 2030, with electric vehicles driving close to 100 GWh of that increase.