Exide Industries, the country’s largest manufacturer of lead acid storage batteries, has formed a joint venture with Leclanché SA – a Switzerland-based energy storage solution company – to build lithium-ion batteries and provide energy storage systems targeting the electric vehicle market and grid-based applications.
Exide will be the majority partner in the JV with a 74.99 per cent stake, while Leclanché will hold the remaining 25.01 per cent.
Leclanché will provide access to know-how and intellectual property for lithium-ion cells, modules and battery management systems.
Exide, on the other hand, will leverage its extensive sales network and brand.
The JV’s production plant will be based in Gujarat, Exide said in a statement.
A module and battery pack assembly line is expected to be operational by Q2 (July-September period) of 2019, while the lithium-ion cell production plant is expected to be in operation by mid-2020.
The focus will be 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.
The JV will be a ‘subsidiary company’ of Exide, it said in a notification to the bourses.
Market-ready products
According to Gautam Chatterjee, CEO, Exide Industries, Leclanché SA is the perfect partner and post the JV there will be an immediate access to engineering resources to build market-ready products.
“This compliments 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.” he said.