International Battery Company (IBC), an Indian battery cell manufacturer, has announced it will build a $1bn (Rs80bn) battery plant in India to manufacture its proprietary prismatic cells.

The company has been granted 100 acres of land for a battery gigafactory near Bengaluru, in the state of Karnataka. The plant will focus on lithium-ion prismatic battery cells as they contain more energy than standard cylindrical cells.

IBC signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the plant with MB Patil, Karnataka’s Minister for Commerce, Industries and Infrastructure, who announced it on social media.

Gunjan Krishna, Karnataka Industrial Development Commissioner, told reporters that production from the site will commence in 2025, with the company eligible for financial incentives once production begins.

Research and development of the battery cells will take place in the US, while a pilot plant is currently being built in South Korea to work with supply chain partners. The bulk of battery manufacturing, however, will operate at the Karnataka plant. Krishna added that by 2028, the plant aims to produce 10GW of battery capacity, with each prismatic cell holding more than 180MW.

IBC claims its proprietary I-NMC prismatic battery cells will reduce the complexity of batteries due to their large size while also increasing energy density within the cell. This aids the global energy transition by tailoring it to “mobility applications” such as electric vehicles (EVs). These cells will also be recyclable, according to the company.

The MoU comes a week after Foxconn, a company most known for manufacturing iPhones, revealed it will also begin building EVs in India. The company signed a deal with MB Patil for the manufacture of iPhones in Karnataka; however, it is still searching for a location in India to manufacture EVs. It plans to build a “vertical platform” for manufacture, hardware, battery management and components.