Amara Raja-backed Log9 Materials raises Rs 2,350 crore
Aiming to be an all-segment, battery cell-to-pack manufacturer, Amara Raja-backed Log9 Materials looks to invest Rs 2,350 crore over the next few years. Out of the total outlay earmarked, nearly Rs 200 crore will be spent on expanding its existing battery pack facility and Rs 150 crore on building a cell manufacturing facility. “We are investing Rs 150-160 crore in the battery pack facility, another Rs 150-200 crore on the cell manufacturing facility. Beyond that in FY2025, we plan to invest Rs 2,000 crore in a mega Gigafactory as part of our expansion plans," Akshay Singhal, Founder and CEO of Log9 Materials.
The Bangalore-based startup, which specialises in the manufacturing, research, and development of nanotechnologies, had started making batteries for electric two and three-wheelers from December last year and is currently churning out 8,000-10,000 units per annum.
After catering to E2W and E3W players, it is now looking to expand its presence in the E4W market and has also commenced trial runs for four wheeled electric commercial vehicles. It has already partnered with original equipment manufacturers such as Hero Electric, EKA (a subsidiary of Pinnacle Industries Limited), Omega Seiki Mobility and Northway Motorsport (to launch e-4Ws) across two-wheeler, three-wheeler, and four-wheeler platforms. Having put forth 2,000 batteries across two, three and four wheelers, the company has an orderbook of 20,000 batteries that will be deployed by next year.
“We are also in talks with a few others for more four-wheeler partnerships. And in doing so, our push will continue to remain on the CV side, currently not on PVs,” Singhal said. In terms of capacity expansion, the Bangalore-based company is ramping up its output to 50,000 units (for E2Ws and E3Ws) per annum by FY 23 and 400,000 units (for E2, 3 and 4 wheelers) per annum by FY 24.
“The initial capacity of our upcoming Li-ion battery manufacturing facility shall be 250 Megawatt hours (MWh), which we aim to expand to 2 Gigawatt Hours (GWh) in a few years’ time. On the other hand, our cell manufacturing line has an annual production capacity of 50 MWh,” he said. He, however, categorically maintained that it has no plans to diversify into electric vehicle manufacturing.
Log9 Materials also shared that it will be spending around Rs 2,000 crore for setting up a gigafactory during FY 2026, once both the battery pack and cell manufacturing facilities are completely utilised. The mega facility will be involved in the production of the entire supply chain in the battery space — from battery materials to cell manufacturing, to packs and battery management systems (BMS)—in order to deliver batteries with high energy density and fast charging capabilities, as claimed by the company.
It is to be mentioned that ‘Gigafactory’ or ‘GigaFactory’ is a generic term for facilities that produce batteries for electric vehicles on a large scale. In India, while EV startup Ola Electric is building a giga-facility, big league firms like Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and Gautam Adani led- Adani Group have also officially announced its plans to build such factories.
In order to fund its expansion plans, the company is also in talks with global players for raising debts or stake dilution to fun its capex plans. “Our deep understanding and knowledge of chemistry and materials will add to our competitive advantage in setting up our world-scale battery manufacturing facility,’’ Singhal stated, adding, “For funding this growth (the Rs. 2,000 investment), we either look for debts or dilute our stake or even go for an IPO. We are yet to take a call on that."
Log 9 Materials has raised a total of $50 million in funding over 7 rounds with the latest being a Series B round for $9.65M on Sep 16, 2022. The company is funded by leading VCs like Sequoia and Exfinity Ventures and strategic investors such as Amara Raja Batteries( holding a 15.4 percent stake) and Petronas (Malaysia). As per Fintrackr’s estimates, the company has been valued at around Rs 1,700 crore or $213 million (post allotment). In FY22, it earned Rs 24.5 crore in revenue and is hoping to cross the three-digit mark by the end of this financial year.
The Bangalore-based startup, which specialises in the manufacturing, research, and development of nanotechnologies, had started making batteries for electric two and three-wheelers from December last year and is currently churning out 8,000-10,000 units per annum.
After catering to E2W and E3W players, it is now looking to expand its presence in the E4W market and has also commenced trial runs for four wheeled electric commercial vehicles. It has already partnered with original equipment manufacturers such as Hero Electric, EKA (a subsidiary of Pinnacle Industries Limited), Omega Seiki Mobility and Northway Motorsport (to launch e-4Ws) across two-wheeler, three-wheeler, and four-wheeler platforms. Having put forth 2,000 batteries across two, three and four wheelers, the company has an orderbook of 20,000 batteries that will be deployed by next year.
“We are also in talks with a few others for more four-wheeler partnerships. And in doing so, our push will continue to remain on the CV side, currently not on PVs,” Singhal said. In terms of capacity expansion, the Bangalore-based company is ramping up its output to 50,000 units (for E2Ws and E3Ws) per annum by FY 23 and 400,000 units (for E2, 3 and 4 wheelers) per annum by FY 24.
“The initial capacity of our upcoming Li-ion battery manufacturing facility shall be 250 Megawatt hours (MWh), which we aim to expand to 2 Gigawatt Hours (GWh) in a few years’ time. On the other hand, our cell manufacturing line has an annual production capacity of 50 MWh,” he said. He, however, categorically maintained that it has no plans to diversify into electric vehicle manufacturing.
Log9 Materials also shared that it will be spending around Rs 2,000 crore for setting up a gigafactory during FY 2026, once both the battery pack and cell manufacturing facilities are completely utilised. The mega facility will be involved in the production of the entire supply chain in the battery space — from battery materials to cell manufacturing, to packs and battery management systems (BMS)—in order to deliver batteries with high energy density and fast charging capabilities, as claimed by the company.
It is to be mentioned that ‘Gigafactory’ or ‘GigaFactory’ is a generic term for facilities that produce batteries for electric vehicles on a large scale. In India, while EV startup Ola Electric is building a giga-facility, big league firms like Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and Gautam Adani led- Adani Group have also officially announced its plans to build such factories.
In order to fund its expansion plans, the company is also in talks with global players for raising debts or stake dilution to fun its capex plans. “Our deep understanding and knowledge of chemistry and materials will add to our competitive advantage in setting up our world-scale battery manufacturing facility,’’ Singhal stated, adding, “For funding this growth (the Rs. 2,000 investment), we either look for debts or dilute our stake or even go for an IPO. We are yet to take a call on that."
Log 9 Materials has raised a total of $50 million in funding over 7 rounds with the latest being a Series B round for $9.65M on Sep 16, 2022. The company is funded by leading VCs like Sequoia and Exfinity Ventures and strategic investors such as Amara Raja Batteries( holding a 15.4 percent stake) and Petronas (Malaysia). As per Fintrackr’s estimates, the company has been valued at around Rs 1,700 crore or $213 million (post allotment). In FY22, it earned Rs 24.5 crore in revenue and is hoping to cross the three-digit mark by the end of this financial year.
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