Hyderabad-based Godi India is set to become the first Indian company to manufacture lithium-ion cells, by this August. The company has signed a public private partnership deal with CSIR-CECRI (Central Electrochemical Research Institute) to operate and maintain an advanced Lithium-ion cell manufacturing unit in Taramani, Chennai. It is planning to invest about $3 billion over the next five years. “We are going to start production from the facility on August 1 and will start delivering to original equipment manufacturers (OEM) within 15 days. It will be the first Indian-made cell to be delivered to OEMs,” said Mahesh Godi, Founder and chief executive officer, Godi India. At present, India is mainly dependent on China and South Korea for imports of lithium-ion cells. Godi India is already in two-, three- and four-wheeler manufacturers for supply deals. The company is already in the process of setting up a giga factory that will be operational by 2023, primarily catering to electric vehicles. The company is the country's first to have certification from the Bureau of Indian Standards for lithium-ion cells made using its home-grown technology. Under BIS requirements, the Godi-designed cells were tested and qualified by a third-party testing agency (TUV). “We already have a facility in Hyderabad. Next year we will come up with the giga factory,” Mahesh said. Godi India is the first Indian company to manufacture Made-in-India and Made-for-India Lithium-ion cells, which is certified by BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards). With this, Godi India can manufacture and sell the cells at par to the standard cells available in the world market. With the new partnership, it plans to make next generation cells for mobility and new research and development projects. Godi India will operate and maintain the facility to manufacture advanced lithium-ion cells and cater to various applications ranging from e-mobility to large scale energy storage systems.