Vehicle battery startup Log9 has raised $40 million in its Series B funding round in a mix of equity and debt, led by Amara Raja Batteries Ltd and Petronas Ventures.
Other new investors, Incred Financial Services Private Ltd., Unity Small Finance Bank, Oxyzo Financial Services Private Ltd. and Western Capital Advisors Private Ltd. also participated in the round.
A company spokesperson declined to comment on the break-up of equity and debt in the $40 million funding.
The deeptech startup plans to use the funds to increase its manufacturing capabilities. “The recent round of investments will allow us to grow our battery manufacturing capabilities to a 2 gigawatt hour (GWh) capacity by the end of 2024 and commission an integrated lithium Ion cell production line,” said Akshay Singhal, founder and chief executive officer of Log9.
Founded in 2015 by Singhal, Kartik Hajela and Pankaj Sharma, Log9 is planning to invest Rs 100 crore towards advancements in cell and battery technology stacks.
In the past few years, India’s electric vehicle ecosystem has picked up the pace, with the Indian government pushing for a cleaner mobility option. The central government expects the EV sales penetration to grow to 30% for private vehicles, 70% for commercial vehicles and 80% for two/three-wheelers by 2030.
Public and private investments in the segment will play an important role in meeting this target. Last year, close to 43 electric vehicle startups in India raised $673 million till November 2022, as per findings of a survey done by Windmill Capital.
“We foresee these investments to cement our position in the commercial electric vehicle space and to expand into stationary battery sectors such as power backup and grid storage,” said Singhal.
Log9 currently manufactures electric vehicle batteries under the brand name RapidX. It also provides electric battery charging solutions under the brand name ZappUp. It claims to have filed more than 70 patents.
“Log9 is invested in providing its customers with efficient batteries, based on both LTO and LFP lithium-ion technologies,” said Singhal.
The Bengaluru-based company is now looking to expand its presence globally. It will start pursuing pilots in overseas markets over the next few quarters, with a particular focus on the tropical belt, he added.
Log9 had raised $8.5 million in a funding round led by Amara Raja Batteries in August 2021. To date, the company has raised close to $50 million. The company also counts CBC Japan, Grip Invest Advisors Private Ltd., Cornerstone Venture Partners, LO Funds, and Oxy Capital, among others as its investors.
Some other companies from the electric mobility space, that bagged funds in 2022 include Euler Motors, BluSmart, Chargeup, and goEgoNetwork, among others. Euler Motors raised $60 million in a fundraising round led by GIC Singapore in October last year. On the other hand, electric taxi-hailing platform BluSmart closed its Series A funding at $50.7 million.
“Battery manufacturing is the most critical part of the value chain that needs to be localized and batteries designed in India will pave the way,” said Vikramaditya Gourineni, executive director, Amara Raja Batteries Ltd.
The development comes when at a time when the Indian electric mobility sector sector is at an inflection point. As the nation is seeing a rise in the demand for electric vehicles, there are also hurdles like battery safety, range and charging infrastructure that stand in the way.
In a bid to solve these challenges, Log9 will invest a part of the raised funds into startups and organizations that are working on charging infrastructure, technology ancillaries and companies fighting climate change at large.
