EV Battery Startup Lohum Raises $7 Mn From Baring Private Equity Partners

New Delhi-based electric vehicle battery manufacturing and recycling startup Lohum Cleantech has announced that it has raised $7 Mn in a fresh round of funding from institutional investors led by Baring Private Equity Partners (BPEP). 

With this funding round, Lohum is looking to expand its manufacturing and recycling capabilities for EV batteries up to 700 Mwh, from its current capacity of 300 Mwh capacity (150 Mwh for manufacturing and 150 Mwh for recycling plant). The company has a plant in Greater Noida and is planning to expand its presence to the US in the coming months.

Its 150 Mwh manufacturing plant has the capacity to produce battery packs for 75K electric two-wheelers in the country, according to Lohum CEO Rajat Verma.

Further, Verma told The Economic Times that the company is looking to raise an additional $20 Mn in funding (INR 150 Cr) over the next year. With the rise in electric vehicle (EV) sales across the country, the company is expecting to increase its revenue 10x times in the next three years, touching $65 Mn (INR 500 Cr) in revenue, he added.  

Founded by Verma, Justin Lemmon and Gazanfar Safvi in 2017, Lohum Cleantech is a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery pack manufacturer and battery materials (cobalt, lithium, nickel, etc) recycler. The company claims to generate 80% of its revenue from sales of EV batteries to solar plants, electric two and three-wheeler companies, while 10% comes from the energy storage system (ESS) and 10% from its recycling business.   

Currently, Lohum assembles Li-ion batteries from cells imported from other countries, including China and Taiwan. Similar to Lohum, other battery manufacturers in the country include Log 9 Materials, RACEnergy, Cell Propulsion and ION Energy among others. According to JMK Research, the Li-ion battery market in India is expected to increase from 2.9 Gwh in 2018 to about 132 Gwh by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 35.5%. 

Last week, Mumbai-based electric vehicle and energy storage startup Gegadyne also raised $5 Mn in a strategic investment from electrical appliances giant V-Guard.  

Updated January 20, 2021 | 11:10: Previously, the targetted revenue of the company was erroneously mentioned as $6.5 Mn (INR 50 Cr), it has been changed to reflect $65 Mn (INR 500 Cr).

Note: We at Inc42 take our ethics very seriously. More information about it can be found here.