JLR to buy battery cells worth ₹5,000 crore from Agratas

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles has sought shareholder approval for material related-party transactions between its British luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover and the Tata group’s battery cell maker Agratas.

The resolution, part of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Integrated Annual Report for the financial year 2025-26, indicates that JLR plans to source battery cells from Agratas as part of its electric vehicle strategy.

The proposed transactions with Agratas Energy Storage Solutions Pvt Ltd and Agratas Ltd are expected to exceed ₹5,000 crore over the life of the agreement, with up to ₹400 crore to be transacted in FY27, according to the resolution.

Agratas, the Tata group's battery manufacturing venture, is setting up battery two cell manufacturing plants: one in Gujarat’s Sanand and the other in the United Kingdom. The company has already set up two R&D facilities in Oxford and Bengaluru to accelerate the transition from fundamental research to scalable production.

“Oxford is focused on advanced chemistry development and early-stage innovation, while also benefiting from a strong academic and innovation network. Likewise, Bengaluru is focused on scale-up, industrialisation, cost engineering, localisation, and process development to enable manufacturing readiness,” CV Manohar, Head of Cell Research and Development at Agratas India, told Business Today in an interview.

“In simple terms, our Oxford lab drives breakthrough technology, and our Bengaluru lab translates it into industrial deployment,” he added.

Being part of the Tata group gives Agratas several strategic advantages as it scales its business. Tata’s passenger vehicle and commercial vehicle businesses will be key customers of Agratas. “Together, these strengths enable Agratas to accelerate execution, enhance resilience, and help build an integrated mobility and energy ecosystem,” said Manohar.

To be clear, Agratas did not participate in the government’s ₹18,100 crore production-linked incentive scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell Battery Storage. Companies such as Reliance New Energy and Rajesh Exports that qualified for the ACC PLI scheme have yet to start commercial production. Only Ola Cell Technologies, a subsidiary of Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Electric, has commenced commercial operations with 2.5 GWh of capacity.

The toughest manufacturing challenge in battery cell production is achieving consistent yield at scale, said Agratas’ Manohar. “Due to the extremely precision-intensive process, every step, whether slurry preparation, coating, drying, or final assembly, must be tightly controlled. Small deviations in coating quality, slurry behaviour, contamination, or drying conditions can quickly translate into defects, safety concerns, and lower yields. The real test in manufacturing is therefore not just making battery cells, but making them repeatedly, reliably, and at high yield,” he explained.

Cell chemistries depend on very high-purity raw materials, carefully controlled synthesis routes, and a deep understanding of how the cathode, electrolyte, and anode interact with one another. The greatest challenges arise when moving from promising laboratory results to reliable industrial-scale production, during which, safety, consistency, degradation control, and cycle life are key to success.

As such, in addition to establishing manufacturing capacity, localisation calls for strong research and development (R&D) capabilities, disciplined process control, and the gradual development of a supporting ecosystem.

However, there are important challenges to overcome, including developing a domestic ecosystem for upstream materials such as Cathode Active Materials, Anode Materials, and electrolytes, said Manohar. Over 90% of these raw materials are currently imported from China.

“Going forward, continued localisation of supply chains and greater access to critical raw materials will play an important role in strengthening resilience and supporting long-term competitiveness,” said Manohar.