Exide Industries has invested ₹200 crore in its wholly owned subsidiary, Exide Energy Solutions Ltd, to fund the company's greenfield multi-gigawatt lithium-ion cell project in Bengaluru, and is set to infuse ₹1,400 crore into the unit.

Exide Energy Solutions serves as the vehicle through which Exide Industries is building its lithium-ion cell manufacturing business, extending the company's operations beyond its core lead-acid battery portfolio. For Exide, the venture is a step into a technology where India currently imports the bulk of its lithium-ion cells, most of them sourced from China.

Exide Industries, headquartered in Kolkata, is one of India's largest manufacturers of storage batteries, with a long-established presence across automotive, industrial, and submarine battery segments. In 2022, the company announced its entry into lithium-ion cell manufacturing, unveiling plans for a greenfield multi-gigawatt facility in Karnataka backed by a phased investment of approximately ₹6,000 crore. The Bengaluru plant was designed for an initial capacity of 6 GWh, expandable to 12 GWh, and Exide Energy Solutions entered into a technology collaboration with China's SVOLT Energy Technology to support cell development at the site.

Exide is one of several large Indian groups moving into cell manufacturing as electric vehicle adoption picks up in the country. The government has backed domestic cell production through the ₹18,100-crore Advanced Chemistry Cell Production Linked Incentive scheme, which targets 50 GWh of capacity; Exide Energy Solutions was not among the initial beneficiaries of that programme, and the Bengaluru project is being funded through phased infusions from the parent company. Others building their own cell capacity in India include Amara Raja, Tata's battery unit Agratas, Ola and Reliance Industries.

The latest infusion will fund Exide Energy Solutions' greenfield multi-gigawatt lithium-ion cell project in Bengaluru as the subsidiary advances the programme. The commissioning of the initial 6 GWh line and the planned expansion to 12 GWh remain the key milestones ahead for the project.

Source: CNBC-TV18