International Battery Company (IBC), the US-based MNC, has requested the Karnataka government to provide 100 acres of land at the Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) at Devanahalli on the outskirts of Bengaluru to setup Lithium cell manufacturing plant with an investment of Rs8,000 crore in the state. The representatives of the battery maker met with large and medium industries minister MB Patil in Bengaluru recently and placed the formal request for the plot of land. “Given the scope for growth of the electric vehicle sector in the country, there is a need to scale up the lithium cell battery production. The company has asked the government to provide 100 acres of land at the Information Technology Investment Region at Devanahalli on the outskirts of Bengaluru,” reported PTI quoting Patil. “The final decision on providing land and extending incentives will be taken after discussing with chief minister Siddaramaiah," Patil added. The company is considering to set up a non-captive gigafactory for manufacturing Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt prismatic cells in the state with a substantial investment of approximately Rs8,000 crore. The investment will be made on land, plant and machinery and building, the company said. IBC India president Venkatesh Valluri said India will need lithium cell batteries in the range of about 150 gigawatts of capacity by 2030. “If the proposed plant is set up, the state will get about Rs12,300 crore in the form of taxes in the next 20 years, Valluri added. Currently, there is a production of lithium cells totalling around 1.5 gigawatts capacity in the country and there is a huge gap between the demand and supply.