Automotive electrical components manufacturer Lucas TVS and the US-headquartered 24M Technologies, developer of next generation lithium-ion battery technologies, announced the signing of a licence and services agreement, to construct one of the first Giga factories near Chennai,  using the latter’s SemiSolid platform technology, to produce cost-effective, safer and high energy density lithium-ion cells.
The Tamil Nadu cabinet had cleared Lucas TVS’  `2,500-crore project for manufacturing  lithium-ion batteries, in January this year.
The company is building its first plant with global safety standards at Thervoy Kandigai, Gummudipundi, near Chennai and it expects to build other plants throughout the country to support the growing energy storage, electric mobility and lead acid battery replacement markets.
The Chennai plant is expected to begin commercial production in the second half of 2023. Based on the aggressive targets set by government in the renewable energy and electric mobility space, Lucas TVS plans to grow the capacity of the plant to a globally competitive scale of 10 GWh in two stages.
TK Balaji, CMD, Lucas TVS, said: “Lucas TVS believes in investing in the next-generation technologies, which is why we chose to partner with 24M. We are confident that their innovative SemiSolid  platform technology will enable us to provide our customers affordable e-mobility, lead acid battery replacement and storage solutions with improved quality and best-in-class safety.”
Lucas TVS plans to build products using different chemistries, in pouch and prismatic cell formats, with high energy density.
Naoki Ota, CEO of 24M, said:  “Our innovative SemiSolid technology and ongoing R&D investments will support Lucas TVS’s ambition to become a leader in the energy storage space for mobility, lead acid battery replacement, storage and grid scale markets in India.”
The SemiSolid platform offers innovative solutions to the fast-growing storage and electric mobility markets and the emerging lead acid battery replacement markets and is already seeing large capacities being planned globally in Japan, ASEAN, Europe, East Asia and the US.  Lucas TVS will be the first to introduce semisolid lithium-ion batteries produced in India and specifically designed for the Indian market, said Lucas TVS.