Tata battery arm Agratas is developing its own LFP cell technology in-house after China tightened export curbs on critical know-how.

This marks a real shift in approach. Until now, Agratas had leaned on licensed technology from established players to build its battery cells.

But China has tightened restrictions on exporting critical manufacturing know-how, and that route has become far harder to pursue.

A pilot production line is already coming up at Agratas’ upcoming factory in Sanand, Gujarat.

Engineers from India, South Korea and China will work together there to refine the manufacturing process and test the first batches of LFP cells, before the company scales up to full commercial production.

The decision did not come lightly. Agratas’ leadership reportedly concluded that a technology partnership with a Chinese firm was no longer realistic, given how strict Beijing’s export controls have become.

Other Indian companies, including Reliance Industries and JSW Group, are dealing with similar difficulties, as existing licensing arrangements for battery technology run into trouble.

Going it alone will cost more and take longer. Agratas has had an easier run with its other battery type, nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) cells, thanks to a licensing deal with Japan’s Automotive Energy Supply Corp.

That partnership let Tata skip years of early development work, a shortcut it will not have while building LFP cells from scratch.

Both cell types will eventually come out of the same Sanand plant. LFP batteries tend to be cheaper and work well for large-scale energy storage, which fits neatly with India’s renewable energy goals.

Agratas is also putting over $400 million into a new Bengaluru R&D centre focused on LFP and related battery chemistries, a project first reported back in May.

On the production side, Agratas expects to begin making NMC cells in India by early 2027. A separate factory in Somerset, England is set to go live around the middle of next year.

That UK facility will initially supply battery cells to Jaguar Land Rover for its upcoming electric Range Rover.

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