JSW Projects and COEP Technological University are setting up an ₹800 crore battery R&D and cell validation center in Pune. The facility focuses on indigenous lithium-ion and sodium-ion cell development to reduce India’s dependence on battery imports. The initiative aligns with JSW Group’s broader push into the energy storage and electric vehicle ecosystem.
JSW Projects and COEP Technological University are collaborating to establish an advanced battery research and development center in Pune with an investment of over ₹800 crore. The facility, situated at the university's Chikhali Research Park, is designed to create a domestic platform for designing, testing, and validating battery cells. This project is part of a larger effort to build local expertise in energy storage technology.
The project aims to develop indigenous lithium-ion and sodium-ion battery cells. Currently, India imports a large portion of its battery requirements for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage, which makes domestic R&D a strategic priority for companies betting on the clean energy transition. By creating local intellectual property and testing facilities, the partners hope to eventually lower the reliance on foreign battery suppliers, which has been a drain on national foreign exchange reserves.
The project will operate in two phases. The first phase will center on design, simulation, and prototyping of cells. The second phase involves upgrading the site into a dedicated Cell Validation Centre, with the capability to produce cells ranging from 100 Ah to 600 Ah. These capacities are engineered to meet performance benchmarks, including suitability for India’s diverse climatic conditions, which is crucial for the reliability of electric vehicle and grid-scale storage systems.
JSW Group has been expanding its presence in the electric vehicle and energy storage space. This partnership is a key piece in the group's strategy to establish a local supply chain. Sajjan Jindal, Chairman of JSW Group, has emphasized that battery cells are critical to future energy security, often comparing their importance to the role of oil in the current global economic landscape.
For investors, the long-term success of this facility will depend on the company's ability to bridge the gap between academic R&D and commercially viable, industrial-scale manufacturing. Scaling battery technology is notoriously capital-intensive and faces stiff competition from well-established global players who already benefit from massive economies of scale and secured raw material supply chains. Additionally, India still faces structural challenges in securing a stable, cost-effective supply of raw materials like lithium and cobalt, which remain essential for high-performance battery chemistry.
The initiative is expected to generate over 1,000 jobs within the local ecosystem, potentially turning the region into a hub for clean energy hardware. Moving forward, the key monitorables for stakeholders will include the facility's construction timeline, the successful execution of the initial prototyping phase, and how the research outputs are integrated into JSW’s broader commercial EV and energy storage projects.