Korean battery giant LG Chem has halted its lithium-ion battery project in India as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to hit the automotive market, according to reports.
The company was in talks with Renault, Mahindra & Mahindra and Hyundai for an Indian consortium for the project and regarding equity participation for the same, reported the country’s newspaper The Economic Times.
The newspaper quotes Mahesh Babu, CEO of Mahindra Electric saying that discussions on the project were detailed, but this had now “gone under the carpet” with “no idea on when this project will revive”.
BEST reported in September, 2018 that LG Chem was looking to work with Indian car multinational Mahindra & Mahindra to develop a “unique” NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) battery for electric vehicles made in the country.
The South Korea firm has announced a number of battery expansions in the past few months, including: expanding carbon nanotube (CNT) manufacturing by 1,200 tons at its Yeosu plant; planning to break ground on a battery cell assembly plant in Ohio, US, to make large-format, pouch-style lithium-ion cells with GM Motors; entering into a partnership with Tesla; and extending a long-term loan of €250 million ($275 million) with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to support the construction of its European lithium-ion gigafactory.
Earlier this year battery maker Xnrgi opened a high temperature lithium-ion battery factory in India capable of an annual output of 240MWh of battery storage for the e-mobility and stationary storage markets.
Last October, BEST reported on a memorandum of understanding to invest INR49 billion ($690 million) to build a lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant in India between a Japanese joint venture and the state government of Gujarat.
The JV Automotive Electronics Power Private— jointly owned by Japanese firms Suzuki Motor (50%), Toshiba (40%) and Denso (10%)— plan to build a lithium-ion battery production facility in Hansalpur, in the state’s Ahmedabad district.