India’s Exide Industries and Switzerland’s Leclanché have signed a joint venture (JV) agreement to produce lithium-ion batteries in India, to power the country’s growing electric vehicle market.
Exide has been producing lead acid batteries while Leclanché is into lithium-ion cells, battery modules and storage racks. As part of the JV, Leclanché 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.
The JV’s production plant will be based in Gujarat. Exide will be the majority shareholder while Leclanché will be the strategic minority shareholder. 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.
Meanwhile, cells will be sourced from Leclanché’s plant in Willstätt, Germany. Besides electric vehicles, the JV will also focus on stationary energy storage systems and grid-based applications.
Both companies estimate that 40% of cars sold in India could be electric in 2030, citing TFE Consulting’s “The case for electric mobility in India”.
“Exide’s selection of Leclanché as its partner of choice is a testament to Leclanché’s deep knowhow 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,” said Anil Srivastava, CEO, Leclanché.
Gautam Chatterjee, CEO, Exide Industries, said – “Leclanché SA is the perfect partner for us in India. The Company brings superior technology, modules and battery management systems, as well as immediate access to engineering resources to build market-ready products.”
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