EV Battery Startup Log9 Raises $40 Mn Funding To Expand Manufacturing Capacity

EV battery startup Log9 has raised $40 Mn funding in its Series B round led by Amara Raja Batteries Ltd. and Petronas Ventures. The funding round, which was a mix of equity and debt, also saw participation of Incred Financial Services Private Ltd, Unity Small Finance Bank, Oxyzo Financial Services, and Western Capital Advisors.

Founded in 2015 by Dr. Akshay Singhal, Kartik Hajela and Pankaj Sharma, Log 9 manufactures batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage. The startup claims that its batteries are suited for Indian and other developing markets.

Log9 will use the fresh capital to grow its battery manufacturing capacity to 2 GWH by the end of 2024 and commission a fully-integrated lithium ion cell production line, CEO Singhal said. Besides, it will invest INR 100 Cr for advancements in cell and battery technology stacks.

“Log9 has always been invested in providing its customers with the most sophisticated and efficient batteries, based on both LTO and LFP lithium-ion technologies. As a battery technology pioneer, we foresee these investments to cement our position as a leader in the commercial EV space and to expand into stationary battery sectors such as power backup and grid storage,” Singhal added.

The startup also plans to roll out pilots in overseas markets over the next few quarters, with a focus on the tropical belt.

Interestingly, Log9 also envisions investing a part of the raised funds into budding startups and organisations that are solving challenges related to charging infrastructure, technology ancillaries and companies fighting climate change at large.

In 2021, Log 9 raised $8.5 Mn in its Series A funding round led by Amara Raja Batteries with an investment of $5 Mn. The startup has raised a total funding of $65 Mn since its inception.

Earlier this month, Log9 Materials partnered with three-wheeler EV fleet operator 3eco Systems to deploy 2,000+ cargo EVs across India over the next 18 months.

The deployment of the vehicles will be initiated from Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai, and then extended to other metro cities. The Commercial Electric Vehicles (CEV) will be catering to e-commerce and hyperlocal logistics players such as Amazon, Flipkart, Big Basket, among others.

Following multiple fire incidents involving several EV players in the country, the government last year notified additional provisions to tighten battery safety standards. Log9 said it aims to solve these challenges around safety, reliability, and performance of EV batteries.

According to consulting firm McKinsey & Company, the share of EVs in new two-wheeler and three-wheeler vehicle sales is expected to rise to 50% and 70%, respectively, in India by 2030.

The total number of EVs registered in 2022 stood at 10 Lakh units, up over 200% from 3.2 Lakh units registered in 2021.