Maharashtra and Gogoro have announced that the Maharashtra government has 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 (Rs 12,300 crore) and include financial incentives and support from Maharashtra. The offer letter follows an 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.
“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,” said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
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 sustainable 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 CEO of Gogoro.
He added, “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.”
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, and network management solutions, and will provide numerous innovations to the State, contributing to the areas of smart city design and development, energy storage stations & systems, smart mobility sharing, smart electric vehicles, demand response services and distributed energy storage, among other applications.
