$2.25 billion lithium battery factory at Taxila ready to start within 6 to 8 months of policy approval

A $2.25 billion lithium-ion battery factory at Heavy Industries Taxila, in Rawalpindi district, could start producing cells within six to eight months of the government approving a battery manufacturing policy, Engineering Development Board (EDB) chief executive Hamad Ali Mansoor told Arab News, as ProPakistani reported on Tuesday. At Rs 276.81 to the dollar that is about Rs 623 billion (our arithmetic).

The factory

• Owner: Margalla Heavy Industries Limited (MHIL), the military-run company that already makes drones, electric buses, two-wheelers and battery storage systems at Taxila.
• Partners: a leading Chinese cell maker and a local private investor; the deal was signed in July.
• Status: construction and equipment installation are complete.
• Capacity: 200 to 300 megawatts of cells a year at first, rising to more than 1,000 megawatts.

How big the market could be

The EDB estimates demand for battery storage could reach 100,000 megawatts by June 2030 if the economy grows 5% or more, or about 80,000 megawatts if growth stays under 3%. That covers homes, shops, factories and electric vehicles from bikes to buses. Grid stabilisation alone could need 3,000 to 5,000 megawatts.

Meeting that, the EDB says, would take four to five gigafactories at $1 billion to $1.25 billion each. The draft policy plans four: in the Lahore, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi divisions of Punjab, and in Karachi. It would also require makers to export a set share of output; Mansoor did not give the figure.

What it means for you

Local cells could bring down the cost of home backup and make electric bikes cheaper, but only once the policy is approved and output scales up. Until then, battery prices follow import costs and the rupee.

If you are sizing a battery for your home now, our battery backup calculator shows how long a battery runs your load, and the solar payback calculator shows when a system pays for itself.