COEP Tech, JSW Projects Join Hands To Develop Indigenous Battery Technology
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COEP Technological University (COEP Tech), Pune, and JSW Projects, a JSW Group company, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish an Advanced Battery Research & Development Centre at COEP Tech’s Chikhali Research Park. The Centre marks India’s first indigenous battery prototyping and pilot-scale R&D platform, bringing lithium-ion cell technology development onto an academic campus in Pune for the first time.
The collaboration positions COEP and Maharashtra as India’s battery-technology hub, with the potential to catalyse over 1,000 battery ecosystem-related jobs. It is a step towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat and India’s Net Zero 2070 ambition, anchoring the electric vehicle, grid storage and clean-energy future in Indian innovation.
The partnership addresses one of the most persistent gaps in India’s innovation ecosystem: the distance between university research and industrial application. Under the MoU, COEP Tech’s faculty and students will work alongside JSW’s engineers on live, commercially critical technology, in an industry-academia collaboration model at the scale India needs.
Prof. Sunil Bhirud, Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, COEP Technological University said, “This collaboration has the potential to create a strong indigenous alternative to imported batteries and make a significant contribution to India’s journey towards self-reliance. For students, it will provide a unique opportunity to learn and work on cutting-edge battery technologies. The scale and scope of the Phase I and Phase II collaboration between COEP Technological University and JSW make it a landmark industry-academia initiative. At a time when next-generation battery technologies are receiving significant research attention across the country, the partnership places research, innovation and technology development on a much larger platform. The collaboration has the potential to develop technologies that can reduce dependence on imported batteries and contribute to the vision of a self-reliant and developed India. The scale of this initiative makes it a significant step forward in strengthening India’s battery technology ecosystem. We are grateful for the valuable support extended by the Government of Maharashtra and the Board of Governors of COEP Technological University in enabling this important initiative.”
Mr. Sajjan Jindal, Chairman, JSW Group, said, “Cell is the new oil. Just as oil powered the last century, battery cells will power this one, from electric vehicles to the grid. For decades, India has spent precious forex importing oil. This time, we must build the cutting-edge skills and capabilities to make these cells right here, for a new India. Our partnership with COEP Tech, with its 170-year legacy of engineering excellence, will bring industry and academia together to design, test and validate cells built for Indian conditions, and help shape India’s clean energy future.”
The initiative draws on ambitions across the JSW Group, one of India’s most diversified industrial conglomerates. JSW Energy is aggressively building out grid-scale battery energy storage (BESS) alongside its renewable power business, while JSW Motors is expanding rapidly into electric mobility across every vehicle segment. Batteries sit at the heart of both ambitions, and JSW Group has committed to lead the indigenous value chain in this domain. Talent development, R&D capability, and a battery ecosystem at home are foundational to both the Group’s and India’s future.
