Exide Industries and Leclanche SA, one of the world’s leading energy storage solution companies, headquartered in Switzerland, have entered into a joint venture (JV) to build lithium-ion batteries and provide energy storage systems for India’s electric vehicle market and grid-based applications.
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 and Exide Industries will leverage its extensive sales network and brand.
Through this JV, the companies are aspiring to be leading providers of storage solutions for electric vehicles and energy storage applications in India and will also contribute to developing storage solutions for renewable energy.
The JV’s production plant will be based in Gujarat. A module and battery pack assembly line is expected to be operational by Q2 2019 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.
The JV will focus on e-transport, stationary energy storage systems and specialty storage markets. In e-transport, the target segment is fleet vehicles including e-buses, e-wheelers and e-rickshaws.
Reference- Autocar, PRNews Wire, TOI, Exide PR