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Amid volatility in lead prices, Exide Industries Ltd is looking to reduce its dependence on lead by focusing on developing advanced technology bipolar lead acid batteries.
According to Goutam Chatterjee, MD and CEO, Exide, the company has already entered into a technical licence agreement with ‘Advanced Battery Concepts, LLC, USA’ (ABC) for acquiring the know-how and technology in the field of bipolar lead acid storage batteries.
"Lead accounts for nearly 40 per cent of the total cost of a battery; by using bipolar storage batteries we can bring down the cost by about 10 per cent," Chatterjee told newspersons after the company's annual general meeting here on Thursday.
A 10 per cent reduction in lead cost will give a "huge cost advantage" to consumers, he said.
The company is yet to firm up on the location of the plant. "In case we want to tap the e-rickshaws segment, then the plant could come up in Haldia; but if we wish to tap the telecom sector, then we would prefer to have it at Hosur in Tamil Nadu," he said.
It will take close to one year for the company to develop and firm up its plan on the product or segment it wishes to tap for bipolar batteries.
Capex plans
Exide has earmarked a capital expenditure of close to Rs 1,100 crore this fiscal. The company had invested close to Rs 800 crore last fiscal. The company has procured around 40 acres at Haldia from Kolkata Port Trust and Haldia Development Authority.
"The 20 acre land purchased from KoPT is adjacent to our existing factory and we plan to go for capacity expansion of lead acid batteries there. On the other 20 acres, we plan to set up a scrap battery recycling unit," Chatterjee said.
The company currently has two scrap battery recycling units, one each at Pune and Bengaluru. The Haldia unit could cater to the requirements of its existing plant in West Bengal. It would take around 12-15 months for the unit to be operational, he added.
Lithium-ion batteries
Exide is also "actively pursuing " the development of appropriate lithium-ion technology for applications, particularly for the emerging demands of electric vehicles.
It has entered into a joint venture with a Swiss company for the technical know-how. It will use the Tudor India facility in Gujarat, which it had recently acquired, for the manufacturing of these batteries.
"The Swiss company is strong on making lithium-ion batteries for buses and renewable energy storage. These are both big markets for India; our first product developments are likely to be on these lines," he said.
The company is hopeful of commencing production in the second quarter of next fiscal.
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