South Korea’s top battery maker LG Chem Ltd. struck a deal with India’s Mahindra Group to supply lithium-ion batteries that would power the automaker’s electric vehicles.

The Korean company said Monday it will develop high-intensity batteries based on nickel, cobalt and manganese cathode materials for Mahindra & Mahindra, an automobile unit in Mahindra Group that also owns South Korea’s fourth largest automaker Ssangyong Motors.

The batteries would also power future Ssangyong Motors EVs, it said.

The battery maker also agreed to develop lithium-ion batteries for Mahindra Electric, a manufacturer of battery packs for Mahindra Group affiliates and other automakers.

The agreement would be valid for seven years, according to LG Chem.

“We are pleased to team up with Mahindra in the field of EV batteries and expect this landmark agreement to help spur India’s burgeoning EV market,” said Kim Jong-hyeon, executive vice president at LG Chem.

"This association with LG Chem will give Mahindra the requisite access to advanced battery technology and will also enable us to deliver globally competitive products," said Hemant Sikka, chief purchase officer at Mahindra & Mahindra.

Mahindra recently announced a plan to build a plant capable of producing 500,000 battery modules a year. It also aims to install production lines for battery packs that will go fully operational in the first quarter of 2020.

Founded in 1945, Mahindra Group started out in the jeep assembly business and now offers a complete portfolio from passenger cars to armored vehicles. It acquired SUV-strong Ssangyong Motors in 2011 and has since made multiple investments in the Korean market.

Demand for EV batteries in India is expected to rise sharply in the coming years as the government pledged last year to rid the country’s roads of petrol and diesel cars and go 100 percent electric by 2030.

By Kang Doo-soon and Kim Hyo-jin

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]