AUGUST 20239TOP STORIESThe Ministry of Heavy Industries is going to release a new tender by 10 August for establishing up of 20 Gigawatt of battery storage capacity for energy as part of the larger plans to speed up the nation's electric mobility mission. The government had earlier tried to award 50 GW capacity under the PLI scheme for ACC battery storage, of which 20 GW remained unallotted. "For the 20 GW that went unallocated, fresh bids are being invited. We are holding a stakeholder consultation with the prospective bidders on 24 July, and the tender should be in the public domain by 10 Aug," said Kamran Rizvi, Secretary Ministry of Heavy Industries.He was replying to a question asked by G20 Sherpa and former Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on the status of India's preparation on the battery capacity front at a seminar on 'Enabling Policies to Accelerate E-Mobility' as part of the 14th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) and Mission Innovation (MI) 8 meetings in Goa. Rizvi stated out of the 30 GW capacity that the government provided in the beginning, 20 GW went to Ola Electric, whose manufacturing facilities are coming into production by the end of this year. "It will be an analyzed one. It will begin with 5 GW and then scale up to 20 GW in the next year. Our other partner is Reliance Industries (RIL). They gained the technology of SodiumIon cells, and their plant is also coming up," he said. Tata Sons today announced plans to establish a global battery cell giga- factory in the UK with a capacity to produce 40GW of cells annually.This investment of over £4 billion is an integral part of Tata Group's co- mmitment to electric mobility and renewable energy storage solutions and establishes a competitive green tech ecosystem in the UK at scale.N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons, said: "The Tata Group is deeply committed to a sustainable future across all of our business. Today, I am delighted to announce the Tata Group will be setting up one of Europe's largest battery cell manufacturing facilities in the UK. Our multi-billion pound investment will bring state-of-the-art technology to the country, helping to power the automotive sector's transition to electric mobility, anchored by our own business, Jaguar Land Rover. With this strategic investment, the Tata Group further strengthens its commitment to the UK, alongside our many companies operating here across technology, consumer, hospitality, steel, chemicals, and automotive. I also want to thank His Majesty's Government, which has worked so closely with us to enable this investment."Commenting about the announcement of the UK gigafactory, UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said: "Tata Group's decision to build their new gigafactory here in the UK ­ their first outside of India ­ is a huge vote of confidence in Britain. This will be one of the largest ever investments in the UK automotive sector. It will not only create thousands of skilled jobs for Britons around the country, but it will also strengthen our lead in the global transition to electric vehicles, helping to grow our economy in clean industries of the future." INDIA WILL BEGIN A NEW TENDER FOR 20 GW BATTERY PRODUCTION CAPACITYTATA GROUP TO SET UP A BATTERY GIGAFACTORY IN THE UK
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