Lead-acid battery manufacturer Exide Industries plans to make lithium-ion cells in India after signing a licensing deal with China-headquartered Svolt Energy Technology.
The Indian firm plans to set up a gigafactory in the country to make cells using Svolt’s two chemistries and three formats designed for use in electric vehicle and stationary storage applications.
Svolt, a spin-off of Great Wall Motors, will grant Exide the right to use its technology and know-how for lithium-ion cell manufacturing as well as supporting the set up of a state-of-the-art greenfield manufacturing plant in India.
According to reports, Subir Chakraborty, managing director and CEO of Exide Industries, said the company was in a “fairly advanced stage” of discussions for finalising the land for this facility.
Exide is forming a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), by way of a wholly-owned subsidiary, to manufacture the batteries.
It has participated in the Production-Linked Incentives (PLI) Scheme for National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage, issued by the Ministry of Heavy Industries, an executive agency of the government of India.
The announcement comes after Exide’s board of directors agreed, during a meeting on 21 December, to set up a green field lithium-ion cell manufacturing facility in India.
The exact size and location of the plant was not disclosed; however, as far back as August 2019 India’s biggest lead-acid battery maker said it would start producing lithium-ion cells from a new plant in Gujarat, India.
Svolt’s battery innovations
In February 2021, Svolt launched a cobalt-free battery cell— which was first announced at the International Motor Show (IAA) in September 2019.
The NMX nickel-manganese battery is offered in two sizes and consist of 75% nickel and 25% manganese, and are stabilised by using doping and coating processes developed by Svolt.
By the end of 2023, the new batteries may also be produced at the company’s factory in Saarland, Germany.
Last April, Svolt and Soteria Battery Innovation Group partnered to produce 5Ah, 10Ah, 20Ah and 60Ah lithium-ion pouch cells, and 60Ah prismatic cells using the latter’s metallised film current collectors.
