EV Battery Startup Gegadyne Raises $5 Mn From V-Guard

Mumbai-based electric vehicle and energy storage company Gegadyne has raised $5 Mn in strategic investment from electrical appliances giant V-Guard. 

Founded in 2015 by Jubin Varghese and Ameya Gadiwan, Gegadyne claims that it has developed ‘game-changing’ and eco-friendly alternatives to conventional lithium-ion batteries. Gegadyne’s batteries charge from 0 to 100% in around 15 minutes; unlike lithium-ion batteries that take hours to recharge. Gegadyne’s batteries are developed from supercapacitors having an energy density similar to that of lithium-ion batteries.

This investment will enable Gegadyne to scale up its operations and further enhance research and development.

“We are elated to have V-Guard Industries as an Investor on our mission to build the next generation of battery technology that will revolutionize the field of energy storage and catapult India to be self-reliant in advance battery chemistry,” said Gegadyne cofounder Jubin Varghese.

Gegadyne’s only previous funding round was in 2017, an angel round for an undisclosed amount led by Mumbai Angels, an angel investment network. 

Gegadyne competes with several Indian startups in the EV space, such as ION Energy and Pure EV, both of which are involved in the design and development of batteries for EVs. 

“We have great expectations from Gegadyne to become the leader in the world of sustainable technologies and look forward to the company playing a pivotal role in transforming EVs, as well as sustainable energy products as a whole,” said Vishamitra Hariharan, the deal lead for Mumbai Angels with Gegadyne. 

According to a recent KPMG and CII report titled Shifting Gears, the light mobility segments of 2/3-wheelers and commercial cars will be leading electric vehicle penetration in India by 2030. The reach of electric cars in the personal mobility segment will be only 10-15%. However, electric cars for ride-sharing and taxis may see traction of 20-30%. 

Notably, India has set an ambitious target of 30% of all vehicles on the road to be electric vehicles by 2030. In 2019, the EV market penetration was 1% of the total vehicle sales in India, which is less than 1 Mn units. Of that, 83% of all EV sales were of electric two-wheelers or scooters. 

According to recent data, the sale of electric two-wheelers in India dipped 5.4% to 25,735 units in 2020 as the majority of the year was clouded by Covid-19, which resulted in a slowdown in purchase activities as well as importing of components from China.

According to an Inc42 Plus report titled, Electric Vehicle Market Outlook Report, 2020, the transactional market size for India’s EV market is expected to be $7.6 Bn by 2026 and $20 Bn by 2030.