Amara Raja bets on in-house battery tech, global talent after China deal stalls. New Delhi, Aug. 22 - Amara Raja Energy & Mobility is building in-house expertise in nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery chemistry after its technology partnership with China-based Gotion fell through, as Beijing's restrictions on technology transfers made it difficult for the Indian battery maker to secure the technology it needed for lithium-ion cell manufacturing, a top company executive said. The company had announced a partnership with Gotion in June 2024 to license lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery technology. LFP and NMC are two cathode chemistries for lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs) and storage systems. With the Gotion deal unable to provide the required cell manufacturing technology, Amara Raja accelerated investments in its own research and development capabilities and began hiring battery researchers and executives from the US and Europe, executive director Vikramadithya Gourineni said in an interview. "When we look at NMC, there's a lot of non-Chinese talent that's readily available," Gourineni said. The company looked at the US and at companies such as Tesla and Panasonic, which have large-scale battery manufacturing operations outside China, he said. "We were able to pick up a couple of people of Indian origin from those kinds of companies," Gourineni said. Amara Raja also hired talent from smaller, well-funded companies developing NMC technologies. While Gourineni did not elaborate on the individual talent hired from various geographies, publicly available records show that the company hired Uday Kasavajjula, who was appointed head of cell technologies after working at US-based electric vehicle battery maker Solid Power. Aditya Palthi, head of giga factory and lithium-ion cell manufacturing, joined Amara Raja in September 2024 from Tesla. "If you look at our R&D team, there's not a whole lot of traditional Amara Raja talent. Everybody's from a hardcore lithium background," Gourineni said. "We keep looking out, trying to find any good talent that's looking for a change as companies are wrapping up. So, built a pretty good team here in India." Amara Raja is building a 16 gigawatt-hour (GWh) lithium-ion cell manufacturing plant at Divitipally in Telangana. It plans to begin commercial production with 2 GWh of NMC cell capacity between April and June next year, according to its latest investor presentation dated 10 August. The company plans to initially target battery energy-storage systems (BESS) before expanding into passenger vehicles, he said. In an 11 August note, analysts at Nuvama Institutional Equities wrote: "Amara Raja is doubling down on lithium business, with focus on battery packs, cells and BESS segments. These efforts improve long-term growth visibility." "BESS can be a notable opportunity considering the boom in renewables and strategic lever for cell capacity," analysts at Anand Rathi wrote on its bet on stationary cells on 13 August. Amara Raja had adopted a two-pronged strategy for its cell business since announcing plans for the plant in December 2022: building an in-house technology and R&D team while simultaneously seeking partnerships with technology providers, including Chinese companies. The difficulty in securing technology through the Gotion partnership ultimately forced the company to accelerate the first part of that strategy. "I think what we've done between our R&D centre and the CQP is to front-load all of the R&D infrastructure. So, there's nothing that's waiting," Gourineni said, referring to the company's customer qualification plant, which bridges laboratory development and commercial-scale production. The shift also comes as India prepares for the emergence of multiple domestic lithium-ion cell manufacturers. Ola Electric has commissioned 1.4 GWh of cell manufacturing capacity and plans to increase this to 6 GWh by September. Reliance Industries, Tata Group's Agratas and Exide Industries are also preparing to begin commercial production from their respective plants by the end of the current financial year. To be sure, Ola and Reliance are part of the government's subsidy production-linked incentive scheme PLI-ACC, which provides incentives for setting up advanced chemistry cell manufacturing capacity. Amara Raja's decision to start with NMC also reflects the availability of expertise outside China. While LFP battery technology and manufacturing expertise remain heavily concentrated in China, NMC development and manufacturing have a broader global footprint, including in the US and Europe. While NMC batteries perform better on range performance, LFP batteries are considered more stable and durable than the former. Moreover, LFP batteries are also at least 20-30% cheaper than NMC, which is driving their adoption in global markets. Both the chemistries are separate and are not interchangeable, with LFP supply chain much more concentrated with Chinese companies in contrast to NMC. The company eventually plans to develop LFP cells as well, particularly as the chemistry gains ground in passenger vehicles and energy-storage applications. The experience gained from developing NMC cells would help the company move into other lithium-ion chemistries, Gourineni said. "At the end of the day, even if you're not having hardcore experience in one chemistry or another, once you kind of understand electrochemistry, there's a lot of the same people who can apply themselves to develop these chemistries also," he said. Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from MINT. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at [email protected] Read the full article

Incite D keep hearing about solid-state batteries. Here's what's actually coming first. Frank Markus Thu, August 6, 2026 at 5:00 AM PDT Incite D has covered a lot of noisy headlines about solid-state batteries, which will supposedly be "the kiss of death for gas cars," by delivering hundreds of miles of range and then recharging in minutes. But perhaps the industry's biggest shift during the past two years is that the race has become less "solid-state versus liquid-electrolyte lithium-ion" and more "semi-solid first, all-solid later." This effectively delays resolution of the toughest challenges - like how to keep a solid electrolyte/separator in sufficiently intimate contact with the electrodes to work properly (which often requires high pressure). Today, semi-solid architectures are already bringing significant benefits to vehicles, while pure ceramic/sulfide lithium-metal batteries (which claim the wildest range/recharging stats) remain years away. Here's a roundup of the leaders: Battery-swapping Chinese automaker Nio produced 150-kWh WELION semi-solid-state packs boasting 260-Wh/kg energy density in 2024. The idea was for owners to rent these packs for long trips, but low demand halted production after a few hundred were produced. China's SAIC teamed with battery supplier QingTao Energy to produce a semi-solid-state pack for IM Motors' L6 Lightyear Max. Its 130-kWh pack is rated for 621 miles of (CLTC) range, recharging 249 miles' worth in 12 minutes at 400 kW. Toyota is working with Idemitsu Kosan to develop an all-solid-state cell using an undisclosed high-energy cathode, a sulfide solid electrolyte, and an undisclosed (likely lithium) anode. A pilot electrolyte plant is under construction, and the supply chain is being built. Chinese battery giant CATL is working with multiple OEMs on semi-solid and condensed-matter batteries using high-nickel chemistries, silicon-rich anodes, and longer-term lithium-metal research. Samsung SDI is working with BMW and others on a reportedly oxide-based all-solid-state anodeless/lithium-metal design with a high-nickel cathode. A pilot production line is running, with production gearing up for an announced target of 2027 mass production. VW Group's PowerCo has teamed with QuantumScape to develop a novel cell design using a pure copper current collector that plates lithium metal during its first charging cycle, a solid ceramic separator that prevents dendrite growth from the anode, and a liquid catholyte that maintains contact with the cathode particles under roughly 50 psi of stack pressure. It's been demonstrated in a Ducati motorcycle, and manufacturing license agreements are signed. Mercedes-Benz and Factorial Energy have demonstrated a pack using a "high-capacity" cathode, an unspecified quasi-solid-state "FEST" electrolyte, and a lithium-metal anode. A pneumatic actuator is needed to maintain an undisclosed pressure (presumed to be higher than VW/QuantumScape's). An EQS prototype has been driven 749 miles on a charge, demonstrating advanced vehicle integration. Stellantis also just rolled out a Charger Daytona test vehicle powered by Factorial FEST cells. BMW and Solid Power have been developing a sulfide solid electrolyte all-solid-state architecture with few details disclosed, other than it will use lithium-metal technology. It's been demonstrated in a BMW i7 using automotive-sized cells, but it's received less publicity. Tiawan's ProLogium has inked a memorandum of understanding with Rimac to develop its "superfluidized all-inorganic lithium ceramic battery." Its fourth generation SF-Ceramion electrolyte reportedly acts like a solid, behaving like a liquid only where it interfaces with the electrodes. ProLogium claims this removes the need for pressurized modules.

Solid Power reported a second-quarter net loss of $23.8 million, or $0.11 per share, as the solid-state battery materials company continued investing in electrolyte development and production capabilities. Revenue for the quarter was negative $300,000, primarily due to a $1.2 million reversal of first-quarter revenue following changed assumptions about milestone payments under its SK On research and development licence agreement. Year-to-date revenue totalled $2.8 million. Installation of Solid Power's continuous electrolyte production pilot line remained on schedule. Equipment acceptance testing is expected to complete in the third quarter, with plant validation and operational startup anticipated in the fourth quarter. Once commissioned, the line is expected to have capacity of 45 metric tonnes, with output anticipated in the first quarter of 2027.