The Indian State of Maharashtra and Gogoro Inc, a global technology leader in battery swapping ecosystems that enable sustainable mobility solutions for cities, announced that the 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 announcement was made, at a Maharashtra’s State Government press conference, by Chief Minister 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 a 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.
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, adding that “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, 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.
With more than 120 million residents, Maharashtra is India’s largest economy and industrialized State with a gross domestic product of more than US$450 billion that accounts for 16-percent of India’s industrial output.