iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
Lucas TVS, an Indian automotive component maker, has signed a license and services agreement with the US-based 24M Technologies to build a factory in India to make products for the energy storage, electric mobility and lead-acid battery replacement markets.
24M Technologies, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is a specialty developer of next generation lithium-ion battery technologies.
With this new agreement, both companies have announced the signing of a license and services agreement, to construct one of the first Giga factories near Chennai, using the latter’s SemiSolid platform technology, to produce cost-effective, safer and high energy density lithium-ion cells.
The Tamil Nadu cabinet had cleared Lucas TVS’ `2,500-crore project for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries, in January this year.
A giga factory, a term said to be coined by Elon Musk, refers to a plant that produces batteries for electric vehicles on a gigantic scale.
The plant near Chennai is expected to start production in the second half of 2023. Its capacity will be increased to a globally competitive scale of 10 GWh in two stages. Lucas TVS plans to build additional such plants across the country.
24M’s SemiSolid platform, according to a company release, enables the production of a thicker electrode, increasing energy density and reducing materials cost. It reportedly offers a significantly simpler process flow, reducing capital costs substantially.
TK Balaji, CMD, Lucas TVS, said: “Lucas TVS believes in investing in the next-generation technologies, which is why we chose to partner with 24M. We are confident that their innovative SemiSolid platform technology will enable us to provide our customers affordable e-mobility, lead acid battery replacement and storage solutions with improved quality and best-in-class safety.”
Lucas TVS plans to build products using different chemistries, in pouch and prismatic cell formats, with high energy density.
Naoki Ota, CEO of 24M, said: “Our innovative SemiSolid technology and ongoing R&D investments will support Lucas TVS’s ambition to become a leader in the energy storage space for mobility, lead acid battery replacement, storage and grid scale markets in India.”
The SemiSolid platform offers innovative solutions to the fast-growing storage and electric mobility markets and the emerging lead acid battery replacement markets and is already seeing large capacities being planned globally in Japan, ASEAN, Europe, East Asia and the US.
Lucas TVS will be the first to introduce semisolid lithium-ion batteries produced in India and specifically designed for the Indian market, said Lucas TVS.
