With this newly-launched facility – the largest one in South East Asia – Log9 aims to achieve at least 50MWh of peak cell production capacity in next one year
Bengaluru-headquartered advanced battery-technology and deep-technology startup Log9 Materials today unveiled India’s first indigenously-developed cell manufacturing facility at Log9 campus, Jakkuru, Bengaluru, thereby in effect taking the very first step towards making India self-reliant (thus enabling AatmanirbharBharat) in meeting the nation’s future electric mobility goals. This state-of-the-art cell manufacturing facility built by Log9 is going to be South East Asia’s largest cell production line.
At a time when majority of the cells and batteries used in India’s electric vehicles are being imported from other countries, this development adds a new lease of life for the country’s mobility vision to turn to electric significantly by 2030. More so, this milestone also puts India on the global map of deep-tech organizations, which will further pave way for the new-generation Indian startups to rise and shine in the deep-technology arena in the times to come.
The inauguration day of the country’s first cell manufacturing line was proudly called as ‘Day Zero’ by Log9 Materials; this day also marked Log9’s 7th anniversary, since the startup’s inception in 2015. Day Zero refersto the starting point in terms of reimagining electric mobility in India and redefining innovation for the years to come, and most importantly, commemorating a special day marking the auspicious beginning of everlasting transformation in India’s EV sector.
The event was hosted with the objective to not just to celebrate this momentous achievement by Log9, but also to address some of the most pertinent and noteworthy questions and concerns pertaining to India’s EV transformation ecosystem today. Notably, with the newly-launched facility, Log9 is aiming to achieve at least 50MWh of peak cell production capacity in the next one year, and then they would be scaling to over 5GWh in the next 3-5 years.
The Day Zero catalyzed and provided impetus to Log9’s foundation of the Responsible Delivery Movement — an initiative where they strive to reduce the carbon footprint generated by the last mile logistics sector in India. At The Day Zero observance by Log9, Dr. K Sivan, Ex-Chairperson, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was present as the Chief Guest, and Smt. Gunjan Krishna, IAS, Commissioner, Department of Industries & Commerce, Government of Karnataka was the Guest of Honour. Among other notable dignitaries and guests present included Log9’s investors, advisors, business partners and ecosystem partners, including senior leaders and representatives from companies like Amara Raja Batteries Limited (ARBL), Umicore, CBC and BluSmart, among others.
Speaking at the event, Dr. K Sivan, Ex-Chairperson, ISRO drew a parallel of ISRO founder Dr. Vikram Sarabhai’s vision with Log9’s vision for India’s future advancement. “Just as Dr. Sarabhai many years back understood and laid emphasis on indigenous innovation to advance and reap large scale benefits of space-tech, similarly Log9’s pathbreaking indigenous research and infrastructure development shall bring India closer to self-reliance in energy storage and EV sectors in the near future,” said Dr. K Sivan.
He further added, “Today, materials science and tech competency is the need of the hour for India’s advancement, and Log9 is already doing wonderful work in this area. I am confident that indigenously produced cells and batteries in India pioneered by Log9 and backed by innovative technology and cell chemistry and high energy density will not only make India proud and self-reliant, but also in the long run create history for India and the entire world.
I believe that with Indian companies like Log9 taking the lead and showing the way forward for disruption and innovation in our country, the day is not very far when even foreign giant companies like Tesla would be procuring cells from us!”
Smt. Gunjan Krishna, IAS, Commissioner, Department of Industries & Commerce, Government of Karnataka congratulated Log9 for its unique achievement and said, “It is inspiring and exciting to see the work done by Indian startups like Log9 helping the nation’s climate action goals as well as advancing the cause of bettering our Planet. It is imperative today to build climate-friendly technologies and products as the country increasingly moves from conventional fuel sources to alternate clean or renewable energy sources. And in enabling that, building innovative and future-ready energy storage solutions in India, for India will be the key. I am delighted to see Log9 taking a step forward to that with its extraordinary batteries and cell manufacturing capabilities.”
Dr. Akshay Singhal, Co-Founder & CEO, Log9 Materials said, “We at Log9 are extremely proud and happy to launch India’s first cell manufacturing line, which reflects a giant leap forward in empowering India with all the flexibility and scale that would be required to give the country the right impetus for ushering its EV-led future. Thus, for Log9, Day Zero marks the day that will usher a new era of India-made cell for India.
This special Day also marks our 7th anniversary, and is therefore presented as a culmination of the groundbreaking efforts by LogNiners throughout our seven-year-long journey so far. Our cells have been designed grounds-up in India, for India; and this means that Log9’s cells and batteries are the best suited for Indian operating conditions, climate and customers, and are hence they are going to play a crucial role in making India self-reliant while helping the nation realize its ambitious electric mobility vision. With the momentum garnered from Log9’s Day Zero event, we will be going onwards and upwards and pledge to do everything possible enable our country to accelerate and lead within the intersectional areas of e-mobility, EV-tech, clean energy and clean-tech, sustainability and deep-technologies.”
Mr. Kartik Hajela, Co-Founder & COO, Log9 Materials added, “It is ironical but true that India despite being a talent-dense economy still starves of grounds-up innovation in the field of deep-tech and EV-tech. When we at Log9 started our journey, we could have either borrowed from what was present in the market and further built on it; but we instead chose to work on a blank canvas, and over the years, with multiple trials, errors and failures, we have been able to better our product and technologies. And today, with utmost pride, we can announce that we have finally made our mark by bringing to India, the best of the battery and cell technology available.
India as a market demands products designed bespoke for the country and not carried forward from some other market. In that respect, we have been able to understand the pulse of the market and our customers well and hence bring to them the best that the world has to offer. Be it designing products or the impact they have on the ecosystem to enabling our stakeholders to bring about a positive difference to the larger world, it is Responsibility that drives Log9, and shall carry forward our transformative legacy in the times to come.”
At the event, Log9’s founders – who are industry thought-leaders themselves – spoke at length detailing out the unique cell chemistry that Log9 has been working with for its RapidX battery packs powered by InstaCharge technology, which offers 9x faster charging, 9x better performance, and 9x battery life for Log9’s batteries as compared to the conventional Lithium Ion EV batteries.
The event also showcased Log9’s cell-to-pack competency alongside the various cell form factors that the Log9 team has been developing, and also parallely laid out Log9’s future plans vis-à-vis the company’s technology, R&D and business scaling roadmap — ranging from the types of cell chemistries, cell factors and energy solutions that Log9 is working with as well as the startup’s ambitious goals to scale up charging infrastructure, EV and clean energy enablement particularly for commercial B2B transportation and logistics space and its plans for large-scale deployments of their RapidX batteries nationwide, among other strategic aspects that the company is targeting to achieve over the next couple of years.
Notably, as of date, India’s EV industry is largely dependent on imports for meeting its demand for EV batteries. This majorly has two adverse repercussions. One, it makes us dependent on other countries for meeting our own EV transformation vision, and also leads to India’s trade deficits with the respective foreign countries increasing, which is detrimental for our economy in the long run. Secondly, these batteries and especially the cells used in the batteries are never designed for the Indian operating conditions which is quite evident from the increasing mishaps occurring across all types of EV platforms. By introducing its superlative, future-facing batteries that last 9 times more than the conventional ones and take a fraction of a time to recharge.
Log9 is confident that they are well on the journey to change India’s EV industry forever for the better as well as nurturing sustainability without any caveats. As a further step towards reducing the carbon footprint of the batteries manufactured by Log9 and for standing taller in their pursuit of Pioneering Responsible Energy, they have joined hands with a startup which has a patented technology in Lithium recycling, which in turn will also enable Log9 to offer economically viable batteries to the customers.
Log9’s long term vision is to be the most respected and most responsible brand in the clean mobility and energy sectors across all tropical countries by 2030. The Day Zero marked the inception of manufacturing India’s first indigenous cells, which Log9 believes will not just go a long way in making India self-reliant in EV space, but also bring to the Indian customers, the best of the battery and cell technologies available in the market, and thus help the company realize its noble vision.
About Log9 Materials
Log9 is an indigenous deep-tech and advanced battery-tech startup that is redefining the EV industry’s standards in the fight against climate change, by offering batteries that can be charged 9x faster, can last 9x longer and offer 9x higher performance and safety. It is the only Indian company today that holds in-house competencies ranging from electrode materials to cell fabrication to battery packs. Log9’s sole purpose and mission is to Pioneer Responsible Energy, and through its initiative, the Responsible Delivery Movement.
Log9 is leading an industrywide consortium of OEMs, Aggregators, End Users, and other stakeholders to raise awareness about the threats of climate change and is mobilizing the first and last-mile delivery ecosystems to combat it. Furthermore, with an eye on the changing transportation and logistics industries, Log9 is investing heavily in the research and development of Aluminum Fuel Cells that will power long-haul commercial vehicles of the future. Log9 is funded by leading VCs like Sequoia and Exfinity Ventures and strategic investors such as Amara Raja Batteries and Petronas (Malaysia).