Gigafactory

Subject – Economy

Context – Tesla to open Canada battery gear factory in Markham, Ontario -mayor

Concept –

Giga factory is a term that we can first trace back to it being used by Elon Musk’s Tesla, for the then-upcoming lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility in Nevada.
‘Giga’ which represents a ‘billion’.
However, in common parlance, a Gigafactory has come to represent a battery-production facility that’s simply gigantic in scale and brings multiple companies and components together to scale up lithium-ion battery production at an unprecedented level.
Gigafactories aren’t just about making lithium-ion battery cells. While that may be their primary function, they are end-to-end renewable energy solution providers.
- Gigafactories are also designed to be the main hubs for renewable energy storage.

Where are gigafactories coming up?

Most countries are engaging in an arms race to become hubs for manufacturing the most efficient and sustainable lithium-ion batteries.
If countries are to meet their target of banning all fossil-fuel powered vehicles by 2030, they need to establish an infrastructural foundation that will sustain their individual car industries for the foreseeable future.

India

With Reliance Industries (RIL) announcing plans to build four gigafactories to manufacture solar panels, electric batteries, green hydrogen and hydrogen fuel cells, India appears to be on the fast track to delivering its target of 450 gigawatts of energy. For this RIL has committed a sum of Rs60,000 crore.
State governments too are keen on developing gigafactories, with Maharashtra recently having outlined plans to build at least one gigafactory in a bid to be the biggest producer of EVs and EV components in the country.