ARBL’s investment in Log 9 Materials is a part of ‘Energy & Mobility’ strategy announced by the company in June this year, which focuses on entering into new green technologies and solutions
IIT-Roorkee-incubated battery-tech startup Log 9 Materials has raised an investment of USD 8.5 million in Series A+ funding round led by Amara Raja Batteries (ARBL).
Amara Raja Batteries was also the anchor investor in this funding round, making an investment of USD 5 million. In addition to that, the two companies have entered into an equity partnership and collaboration.
“While providing an impetus to the research and development work at ongoing projects of Log 9, ARBL is expected to be the primary partner for scaling up the manufacturing operations of Log9’s battery and fuel cell technologies,” the company said in a statement.
It further added that the investment will boost the development of indigenous technologies in India’s nascent advanced battery sector for fast emerging storage and mobility solutions.
ARBL’s investment in Log 9 Materials is a part of ‘Energy & Mobility’ strategy announced by the company in June this year, which focuses on entering into new green technologies and solutions. These initiatives will include expansion and investments that will help the company maintain technological and business leadership in the ‘Energy & Mobility’ space, apart from creating new growth avenues.
Akshay Singhal, founder & CEO, Log 9 Materials, said, “The partnership with ARBL will enable us to propel commercialization at scale of our Rapid Charging Batteries, which in turn shall play a major role in the future in Log 9 eventually becoming the frontrunner and one of the largest Indian players in advanced cell chemistries.”
“In the coming months of 2021, we at Log 9 are looking to take our breakthrough rapid charging battery-tech to end-users at scale; on the other hand, the development and advancements of our aluminum fuel cells will also continue to happen in parallel — including pilots and OEM-level vehicular integrations,” Singhal said.
Vikramadithya Gourineni, executive director, ARBL, said, “This will mark the first in a series of interesting developments that we plan to execute in the future. In this fast-changing technology landscape, we do not believe in a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach and we are convinced that there will be the scope for interplay of multiple technology solutions for various applications.”
The round also saw the Bengaluru-based startup to raise funds from existing investors including Exfinity Ventures and Sequoia Capital India’s Surge Programme.
The strategic angels who also participated in this funding round are Rajesh Yabaji and Chanakya Hridaya, co-founders of logistics industry Unicorn Blackbuck; Rajesh Ramaiah, partner, Premji Invest; Desikan Sundarajan, MD, Equinor; and Faiz Mayalakkara, director Investments, Emirates Investment Authority. AC Ventures (SEA Frontier Fund LLP) is also among the new investors of Log 9.
Notably, the firm had announced last month that it has developed fast-charging batteries for electric vehicles which will help extend the life of the power unit and adoption of EVs, particularly electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers.
