Exide to manufacture batteries and storage solutions for EVs

The JV will focus on e-transport, stationary energy storage systems and speciality storage markets. In e-transport, the target segment is fleet vehicles including e-buses, e-wheelers and e-rickshaws.

India/Switzerland – Exide Industries Ltd of Kolkata, India's largest manufacturer of lead-acid storage batteries and power storage solutions provider with Leclanche SA² of Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland one of the world's leading energy storage solution companies, announced a joint venture to build lithium-ion batteries and provide energy storage systems for India's electric vehicle market and stationary storage applications.

The JV will focus on e-transport, stationary energy storage systems and speciality storage markets. In e-transport, the target segment is fleet vehicles including e-buses, e-wheelers and e-rickshaws.

As part of the JV, Leclanche will provide access to its know-how and intellectual property for lithium-ion cells, modules and battery management systems, this helps Exide Industries to leverage its extensive sales network and brand.

The JV's production plant will be based in Gujarat. Exide Industries, with the aim of setting up large-scale manufacturing facilities of lithium-ion batteries, will be the majority shareholders and Leclanche will be the strategic minority shareholders of the JV. The company claims that a module and battery pack assembly line is expected to be operational by Q2 of Financial year 2018-19 and a lithium-ion cell production plant is expected to be in operation by mid-2020. In the intervening period, cells will be sourced from Leclanche's plant in Willstatt, Germany.

Gautam Chatterjee, CEO of Exide Industries Ltd, said, "Leclanche is the perfect partner for us in India. This ideally complements our leading position in the lead acid storage battery market in India and will allow us to take the lead in the lithium-ion battery industry, which is expected to grow significantly in the next few years.”

Anil Srivastava, CEO of Leclanche, said, "Exide's selection of Leclanche as its partner of choice is a testament to Leclanche's deep know-how and IP and a significant endorsement of our world-leading cell and energy storage technologies, which are the product of our strong heritage and a decade of investment in lithium-ion R&D and production.”

¹Exide Industries ltd offers complete solution in areas of equipment selection, battery sizing, optimum room layout, installation, operation and maintenance, designs, manufactures, markets and sells the widest range of lead acid storage batteries in the world from 2.5Ah to 20,600Ah capacity, to cover the broadest spectrum of applications. The company has seven factories located across the country – two in Maharashtra, two in West Bengal - Shamnagar (Mother plant) & Haldia, one in Tamil Nadu Hosur, one in Haryana and two in Uttarakhand. It offers batteries under the EXIDE, INDEX, DYNEX, SF SONIC, CHLORIDE, and CEIL brand names.

²Leclanché SA was founded in 1909, headquarters in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland and production facilities in Willstätt, Germany. Through a licensed ceramic separator technology and focus on lithium titanate technology, Leclanché manufactures large-format lithium-ion cells. At the end of the second quarter 2012, Leclanché started operations of its first production line with an installed annual capacity of up to 76 MWh in lithium titanate cells.