Davos 2023: Gogoro, Belrise to invest $2.5 bln in battery swapping network in Indian state

Gogoro

17/01/2023 17:52

By Brenda Goh
       DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 17 (Reuters) - India's
Maharashtra state on Tuesday signed a deal with Taiwan's Gogoro
 GGR.O  and automotive system maker Belrise Industries under
which the two firms will invest $2.5 billion over eight years in
building battery-swapping infrastructure across the state. 
    Announced on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in
Davos, the partners said the memorandum of understanding aimed
to establish batteries as a leading source for mobility and
energy storage in Maharashtra, India's wealthiest state with 120
million residents which is looking to reduce its use of fossil
fuels. 
    Shares in Gogoro Inc rose 7.1% after the deal was announced.
The companies will start deploying the infrastructure this year
and hope that it will encourage energy vehicle use as well as
help to reduce energy costs for farmers. 
    "Maharashtra state is looking for a platform in which
converting to green has many different devices, mobility device,
storage device, smart city devices; what we're working on is
more like a platform enabling this to happen," Gogoro Chief
Executive Horace Luke told Reuters, describing the deal as
"huge" for the Taiwanese firm. 
    Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra's deputy chief minister, said
the state hoped they would set an example for other states in
India to transition to smarter sustainable cities. 
    Gogoro is known for its green-hued battery swap distribution
network for riders in Taiwan and makes its own vehicles as well
as batteries. It told Reuters in November that it hoped to 
diversify internationally. 
    India's Belrise Industries Ltd, previously known as Badve
Engineering, produces about one third of all two-wheel and
three-wheel chassis made in the country. 
 (Reporting by Brenda Goh)
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