Tata and AESC could prepare joint cell production
Indian carmaker Tata Motors and Japanese battery manufacturer AESC could soon announce a partnership. According to local media, AESC will likely supply the technology for Tata’s first battery cells produced in India.
That is what the Indian portal Autocar Professional reports. According to the articles, the deal could be the result of a licencing agreement or even an equity partnership. The nature of the partnership will be decided in the coming months. Either way, the partnership would involve NMC cells for the Tata subsidiary JLR, but the development of solid-state batteries could also be explored.
Within a few weeks in early summer, Tata announced its intention to build one cell factory in the Indian state of Gujarat and one in the UK. The Financial Times now reports that AESC will be heavily involved in Tata’s planned battery cell factory in England, among other projects.
According to the paper’s sources, Tata subsidiary Agratas, which will supply batteries to JLR’s future electric cars, is looking to develop its own technology but will need more time to get it ready. AESC will thus “supply the technology for the first generation of batteries that are due to be manufactured” at the Somerset battery factory in England. And AESC will allegedly supply battery cells for electric Jaguar models from 2025, which the battery-maker will likely produce at its new factory in Sunderland, UK.
Envision AESC is headquartered in Japan and was founded in 2007 as a joint venture between three Japanese companies. As the focus of the “Automotive Energy Supply Company” (AESC) was on electric vehicles from the beginning, Nissan was the largest shareholder with 51 per cent. In 2018, however, the Chinese company Envision acquired a majority stake in AESC.
Since this takeover, Envision AESC already has a cell factory in the USA: not far from the Nissan vehicle plant in Smyrna (Tennessee), Envision AESC produces battery cells for the Japanese manufacturer.
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