Tata's Agratas to supply battery packs for Jaguar Land Rover electric cars

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has recently revealed its battery sourcing strategy for its next-gen electric cars that target a driving range of about 724 kms (450 miles) in single charge. The automaker has reportedly told its investors that it is to partner with Tata Group's subsidiary Agratas for the sourcing of battery packs for the upcoming vehicles. 

According to Autocar, JLR has added that the batteries from Agratas would have a much higher energy density than those powering the Jaguar I-Pace – the company's only electric car in sale at present. The Indian company will show its expertise in cell design and production, while JLR is expected to oversee the design and production of the cell pack.

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Thomas Müller, JLR's head of product engineering, has reportedly said, "The new batteries would give 120 kWh from 342 litres of cell capacity, compared with 84 kWh from 387 litres in the I-Pace pack". This would support the EMA Ultra Range - the brand's next-generation EV architecture that may also underpin electric SUVs for Land Rover brand as well. 

Müller has also said that the companies will be working on a battery recycling solution as well, with "full transparency across the value chain" in terms of material sourcing for battery manufacturing, the Autocar report adds.

It is likely that the battery cells will be exported from Agratas's proposed 20 GW battery gigafactory in Gujarat to start with. The company recently stuck an MoU with the Gujarat Government for setting up a mass-production facility in the state to make lithium-ion batteries.

Interestingly, Agratas is also considering a possible European facilities for cell manufacturing in two countries - UK and Spain, according to the news report.