Gogoro and Belrise will invest $2.5 billion to build a battery swapping network in India

By Brenda Goh

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters – India’s Maharashtra State signed a deal on Tuesday with Taiwan’s Gogoro Automotive System Maker Belrise Industries. The two companies will invest $2.5B over eight years to build battery-swapping infrastructure in the state.

Announced at the World Economic Forum, Davos, the agreement was signed by the two partners. The aim of the memorandum is to establish batteries as a major source of mobility and energy storage in Maharashtra. Maharashtra is India’s richest state with 120m residents, and is trying to reduce its dependency on fossil fuels.

Gogoro Inc shares rose 7.1% following the announcement. They will begin deploying the infrastructure in the new year, hoping that it will increase energy vehicle use and help farmers reduce their energy costs.

“Maharashtra state wants a platform that converts to green has many different devices: mobility device, storage device smart city devices; the platform we’re working with is more like a tool enabling this,” Horace Luke, Gogoro chief executive, said to Reuters. He called the deal “huge” and praised the Taiwanese firm for their support.

Devendra Fadnavis (Maharashtra’s deputy chief Minister) said that the state hoped they would be an example to other Indian states to move to smarter, more sustainable cities.

Gogoro’s green-hued, battery swap distribution network in Taiwan for riders is well-known. The company also produces its own batteries. In November, it told Reuters that it hoped diversifying internationally.

India’s Belrise Industries Ltd (previously Badve Engineering) produces approximately one-third of all three-wheel and two-wheel chassis produced in India.

(Reporting by Brenda Goh