India to get its first lithium ion batteries manufacturing plant for phones

Munoth Industries plan to start the first phase of the project in India by March 2019 with the sale of batteries set to begin in April.

Munoth Industries plans to invest Rs 799 crore for India’s first lithium ion batteries manufacturing plant. (Hemant Mishra/Mint)

Munoth Industries today said that it plans to invest ₹799 crore in three phases for setting-up the country's first lithium ion batteries manufacturing plant.

The company plans to start selling batteries for 50 million smartphones by April 2019 and gradually scale up production to 250 million by 2022 and hire 1,700 people.

"We are committed to invest a total of ₹799 crore in the manufacturing plant. The investment will be raised through debt, equity and internal accruals. We will make batteries initially to cater demand of smartphone segment," Munoth Industries Limited (MIL) Director Jaswant Munoth told reporters here.

The first phase of the project will be operational by March 2019, and 2nd & 3rd phases by 2022.

"Lithium-ion cell is a core component for mobile phone industry. As of now, Lithium-ion cells are imported and battery packs are assembled in India using the imported cells and with this project of Munoth Industries, we will begin our journey to become a pioneer in this space," Electronics and IT Secretary Ajay Prakash Sawhney said after launching the project.

He said approval for this project under modified special incentive package was given by the ministry in record time. At present, all mobile phone batteries are imported in the country.

"The current consumption of batteries is approx 400 - 450 million per annum for mobile phones, including replacement and about 100 million p a for power banks," Indian Cellular Association National President Pankaj Mohindroo said.

MIL plans to invest ₹165 crore in phase 1 to generate total production capacity of 2 lakh ampere hour per day (Ah/day). In phase 2 and phase 3, MIL will scale up production capacity to 5 lakh and 10 lakh Ah per day.

"We are looking at achieving a market share of approximately 6% of the total number of batteries consumed in the mobile phone industry in India during the 1st phase of production," Munoth said.

The company will recruit 1,700 people for the facility over the course of three-phase project and most of workforce will be high school pass, supervisory staffs will be graduates and managerial staff will be either engineering graduates or post graduates, he added.