Gogoro To Deploy EV Infrastructure Of $1.5 Billion In Maharashtra Under ‘Ultra Mega Project’
Maharashtra government had presented Gogoro, a technology player in the battery swapping ecosystem 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 announcement was made, at a Maharashtra State Government press conference, by Chief Minister Shri. Eknath Shinde.
The proposed Ultra Mega Project deal would exceed $1.5 billion 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 categorises 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.
Maharashtra’s Ultra Mega Project offer outlines an eight-year phase 1 investment plan that includes more than $500 million investment in manufacturing and $1 billion in smart battery infrastructure.
“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 of Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde.
With more than 120 million residents, Maharashtra is India’s largest economy and industrialised State with a gross domestic product of more than US$450 billion that accounts for 16 per cent of India’s industrial output.
Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, said, "Gogoro aims to produce two-wheel EVs that utilise its open and accessible battery swap technology which is absolutely state of the art. We have 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."
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 CEO of Gogoro.
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 & systems, smart mobility sharing, smart electric vehicles, demand response services and distributed energy storage, among other applications.
