EXIDE collaborates with SVOLT to produce lithium-ion batteries in India

Indian battery manufacturer Exide Industries has announced a technical collaboration agreement with China’s SVOLT Energy Technology for making lithium-ion batteries in India.

Upon signing the agreement, SVOLT will grant Exide an ‘irrevocable right and license’ to use, exploit, and commercialize SVOLT’s lithium-ion cell manufacturing. This will facilitate the production of lithium-ion batteries locally.

A global high-tech company, SVOLT develops and produces lithium-ion batteries and battery systems for electric vehicles. It’s range of products also includes battery materials, cells, modules, packs, and battery management systems. Approximately half of the 3,000 employees at SVOLT work in research and development. It has over 550 patents registered in 2019.

This comes after the participation of Exide in the government’s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell manufacturing last year in December. The company had submitted bids under the PLI scheme for battery manufacturing in the country.

Exide MD & CEO Subir Chakraborty said: “It is a major step forward in our aspiration of becoming a leading player in the rapidly emerging new-age electric mobility and stationary application businesses. With VOLT’s strong R&D capabilities and rich experience in making lithium-ion batteries, Exide plans to set up a multi-gigawatt lithium-ion cell unit.”

In June 2018, Exide formed a joint venture with Swiss-based Leclanché SA called “Nexcharge”. Leclanche will share its expertise and intellectual property related to lithium-ion batteries. As a result of this joint venture, a fully automated lithium-ion battery module and packaging facility was set up in Gujarat. This 1.5-GWh plant has already started production and will provide scalable and eco-friendly energy solutions.

For India to become self-sufficient in the manufacturing of EVs, local manufacturers of lithium-ion batteries are needed. China currently produces 90 per cent of all lithium-ion batteries in the world. To identify the challenges facing the EV industry, a parliamentary panel has called for the government to work on becoming self-reliant in manufacturing lithium-ion batteries.

“India is already the number one manufacturer and market for two and three-wheelers in the world and, hence, this presents us the opportunity to lead in the EV segment too.” Said NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant.

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