Agratas filings reveal deeper role of Chinese-owned firm in Tata's EV battery push

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Agratas Ltd, the Tata Group’s UK battery unit, paid over £40 million ( ₹480 crore) to AESC Apollo Holding across fiscal years 2025 and 2026, the company’s UK filings revealed. The milestone-linked payments were part of an asset acquisition tied to the company’s electric vehicle (EV) battery technology partnership with the Chinese-owned company, and signal a deepening partnership on gaining technical know-how as Tata accelerates its EV battery plans.

These payments to AESC occurred alongside a separate investment into Agratas's parent company, Agratas Energy Storage Solutions (AESS). Filings with the corporate affairs ministry showed AESC infused ₹475 crore into AESS between December 2024 and August 2025 to maintain its 12% stake.

The deal highlights Tata Group’s deepening collaborations with Chinese automotive players, after Tata's passenger vehicle business recently revealed plans to leverage Chery's platform to locally manufacture its upcoming premium EV range, Avinya.

In its filings with the companies registrar in the UK earlier this year, AESC Apollo Holding noted it has a joint venture agreement in place with Agratas, as part of which it had picked up the 12% stake in AESS, and that it is working with the company. “The joint venture designs, develops and manufactures high-quality, high-performance, sustainable battery solutions for multiple applications to match its customers' requirements,” AESC said in a filing dated 12 February.

Agratas also noted in its annual filings with the UK companies registrar that it has entered into an agreement to acquire technical know-how during the year, without directly naming AESC. “The company has entered into an agreement to purchase certain technology and know-how in the year. The total value has been agreed and invoicing and payment is based on milestone achievements over the next few years,” Agratas said in its annual filing dated 26 June. However, its related-party transactions showed it made milestone-linked payments to AESC Apollo in FY25 (£31 million) and FY26 (£10 million).

Agratas declined to comment, while emails to AESC about the arrangement between the two companies remained unanswered at the time of publishing. Mint could not independently verify the specific milestones for Agratas’s payments to AESC.

Industry executives noted that the structure of the deal ensures both companies can safely protect their intellectual property while securing their respective investments.

“In fast-evolving and capital-intensive areas like EV batteries, these agreements are evolving beyond just buying technology. Companies are looking for deeper strategic alignment, where both partners have a stake in their respective success, while protecting IP’s and know-how, and enabling faster localisation, scale-up and capability creation,” said Vinay Piparsania, founder of Millenstrat Research and Advisory.

Founded in Japan in 2007 as a joint venture between Nissan Motor Company and NEC Corporation, AESC remains headquartered there despite a change in ownership. In 2018, its founders sold a controlling stake to China's Envision Group, led by Zhang Lei.

AESC Apollo Holdings, the entity that has picked up a stake and is receiving payments from Agratas UK, is responsible for providing technology related services to companies in the lithium ion battery industry. Its parent company operates a 15 GWh lithium ion gigafactory in Sunderland, UK.

The investments and payments for tech services come as Agratas gears up to supply EV batteries to group company Jaguar Land Rover as part of a seven-year deal.

Mint reported on 22 June that Agratas's first supply agreement is expected to initially cover the supply of nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery cells and generate about ₹400 crore in revenue in FY27, according to a Tata Motors Passenger Vehicle Ltd resolution seeking shareholder approval for the related-party trans...