AESC Group Ltd, a Japanese-headquartered EV battery manufacturer now under Chinese ownership, has acquired a 12% stake in Tata Group’s Agratas Energy Storage Solutions Pvt. Ltd. for ₹66 crore. Tata Sons retains the remaining 88%, reflecting investment disclosures filed with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
AESC has also appointed its general counsel, Gordon Louis Chin, to Agratas’ board. Agratas’ board also includes Tata Group Chairman N. Chandrasekaran and P.B. Balaji, Tata Motors’ chief financial officer and incoming Jaguar Land Rover CEO.
This marks the first time the Tata Group has acknowledged foreign participation in its new-age businesses, as well as the first time a board member from an outside company has been appointed to an Agratas board.
Agratas a Tata venture in EV battery manufacturing has already received over ₹1,200 crore in investment from Tata Sons since its 2023 inception.
Harshvardhan Sharma from Nomura Research Institute notes that this stake could grant Agratas immediate access to established cell chemistries, manufacturing IP, and optimized production processes that would otherwise take years to develop independently.
Founded in Japan in 2007 as a joint venture between Nissan and NEC, AESC is now prominently owned by China-based Envision. It is among the top 10 global EV battery producers, with an installed capacity surpassing 12 GWh and aggressive expansion plans.
