Taiwanese battery-swapping refueling platform provider Gogoro will manufacture and deploy smart battery infrastructure in India’s State of Maharashtra that would exceed $1.5 billion over eight years.

Gogoro said in a statement on Thursday that Maharashtra government had presented Gogoro with an offer letter to enter into an ‘Ultra Mega Project’ agreement to manufacture vehicles, smart battery packs and battery swap stations, and deploy an open and accessible battery swapping infrastructure in the state beginning in late 2023.

The proposed Ultra Mega Project deal would exceed $1.5 billion and include financial incentives and support from Maharashtra.

The offer letter follows a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Maharashtra and Gogoro that was previously announced at Davos in January 2023.

The Maharashtra government categorizes Ultra Mega Projects as significant strategic investments exceeding $500 million that usually result in government incentives to ensure successful project execution.

Gogoro’s request for financial incentives was approved and endorsed by the Maharashtra state cabinet and the two parties expect to complete the agreement soon.

“As the leading State in India for electric vehicles, Maharashtra is demonstrating our strong commitment towards sustainable transportation for all,” said Maharashtra Chief Minister Shri. Eknath Shinde.

“We are creating a smart battery ecosystem with Gogoro, a leader in sustainable vehicles and electric fuel technologies,

“As part of the project, Gogoro will establish its India vehicle, smart battery and battery swapping station manufacturing in Maharashtra and deploy their industry leading smart battery infrastructure in the state, generating approximately 10,000 direct and indirect jobs,” he added.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister said that Maharashtra is fully committed to help build a green and sustainable future for our state.

According to him, Gogoro aims to produce two-wheel EV’s that utilize its open and accessible battery swap technology which is absolutely state of the art.

He said the state has provided Gogoro with the necessary financial and other key incentives to usher in a new paradigm shift in the way we will move people across metros and cities.

“The EV revolution is gripping the world and our state is not far behind in its early adoption,

“With this project we anticipate creating a fertile ecosystem for local manufacturers who will avail the necessary tech transfer and help create world class products for our citizens,” he added.

According to the statement, Gogoro plans to build a smart energy infrastructure in Maharashtra that is open and accessible and establishes battery swapping and smart battery stations as a leading source for mobility and energy storage.

The deployment is also expected to accelerate job growth throughout the smart energy, electric vehicle, and sustainability value chain.

Gogoro is expected to lead the increase of foreign direct investment into the state of Maharashtra in both supply chain capabilities and smart battery infrastructure.

“Building on Gogoro’s successful deployment of an open battery swapping network that supports multiple vehicle makers in Taiwan, we plan to proceed in partnership with the Maharashtra government to bring Gogoro vehicles, smart batteries and swap stations to India starting with the state of Maharashtra,

“We are focused on creating a domestic supplier ecosystem that allows for domestic growth and foreign market expansion,” said Horace Luke, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gogoro.

“It is essential that we transform industries and infrastructure to successfully enter a new era of clean, connected mobility,

“We are excited to be partnering with the Maharashtra government in its vision to transform urban transportation and provide a better path forward for its residents and businesses,” he added.

According to the statement, the battery swapping infrastructure expects to begin deploying across Maharashtra in late 2023 which will leverage Gogoro’s smart energy ecosystem including smart battery stations, swapping technologies, network management solutions, and will provide numerous innovations to the state, contributing in the areas of smart city design and development, energy storage stations and systems, smart mobility sharing, smart electric vehicles, demand response services and distributed energy storage, among other applications.

With more than 120 million residents, Maharashtra is India’s largest economy and industrialized state with a gross domestic product of more than $450 billion that accounts for 16-percent of India’s industrial output.

Gogoro was founded in 2011. Its Gogoro Network is a new generation of distributed smart energy infrastructure that is optimized for swappable battery refueling and architected for intelligent bidirectional demand response and energy storage that is a key building block of a smart grid.

Gogoro is currently a firm involving in battery swapping, energy storage, connected vehicles, electric propulsion systems, smart battery design, and advanced cloud services that utilize artificial intelligence to manage battery availability and safety.

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