Foxconn in talks with Tamil Nadu for battery energy storage unit

The Tamil Nadu government has approached Foxconn, the biggest contract manufacturer operating in the country, with about 200 acres of land for the company's proposed battery energy storage system (BESS) unit, people aware of the developments said. If this comes through, this could be Foxconn's second such unit in the world.

"The Tamil Nadu government has also given Foxconn an incentive package," one person cited above told ET. "Foxconn is yet to finalise but the talks are in the final stages and Foxconn is likely to go ahead with the project at the identified land in Tamil Nadu, in line with what was mentioned by Chairman Young Liu on his India visit."

Foxconn's first battery plant is located in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and is focused on electric vehicles (EVs). As per reports, the company has also signed an MoU to develop a solid-state battery ecosystem for electric two-wheelers in Indonesia.

BESS enables energy storage from renewable sources like solar, wind etc.

The state has offered Foxconn land near Manalur in Tiruvallur district, about 50 km north of Chennai.

Queries sent to Foxconn and the state government remained unanswered as of press time Tuesday.

Young Liu had visited India in August and had spoken of how Foxconn is looking to move up the value chain to go beyond smartphones in India. In that context, he said the Taiwanese contract manufacturer was targeting sectors like EVs, energy and digital health. When it comes to energy, he said Foxconn was keenly looking at batteries, which will be related to its larger EV strategy.

"We are waiting to put our 3+3 future industry in India," he had said. "I have been talking to the minister for industries here about how we can collaborate on BESS in Tamil Nadu."

Also Read: Foxconn plans $1 billion display assembly unit in Tamil Nadu

As part of the "3+3 strategy", Foxconn has prioritised the three key industries -- electric vehicles, digital health, and robotics industries, each of which it believes has a significant growth potential with current scale at $1.4 trillion and over 20 percent compound annual growth rate.

Foxconn's battery storage business is more focused on electric vehicles.

On November 14, Chairman Young Liu shared an update on the progress of the first BESS unit in Taiwan.

"For battery and energy storage, we are nearing the completion of our manufacturing plant," he said on the investor conference call for the company's third quarter results. "However, due to several typhoons this year, we anticipate that the official mass production will be delayed until Q1 next year."