According to two sources, Indian steel-to-energy group JSW is in early stage talks with Korea's LG Energy Solution (LGES) about jointly manufacturing batteries in India, as it moves forward with plans to build electric vehicles locally.

As per the first person with direct knowledge of the discussions, JSW met with senior LGES executives in Korea earlier this month, proposing a partnership to manufacture battery cells in India for EVs and energy storage.

As per the second person familiar with JSW's EV plans, the Indian company is also talking to other battery players such as China's CATL and Japan's Panasonic and Toshiba as it looks to build a local supply chain for EVs.

"Due diligence wise JSW is talking to a lot of people because it needs an ecosystem for an EV. It is looking at storage, motors, battery management," the person added.

LGES, which supplies battery cells to major automakers such as Tesla and General Motors, has asked JSW to share details about its EV and energy storage requirements.

According to a third source familiar with JSW's EV plans, the company intends to build a factory capable of producing 20 gigawatt hours (Gwh) of battery capacity in stages by the end of this decade, beginning with 8 Gwh in the first phase.

JSW's billionaire chairman, Sajjan Jindal, has publicly expressed his desire to build EVs and has expressed interest in acquiring a stake in China's MG Motor.

Discussions with MG Motor are now on the backburner and JSW is in talks with Chinese automaker Leapmotor to license technology to build EVs in India under its own brand, sources told Reuters last month.