Nexcharge, a JV between Exide Industries and Leclanché SA, has announced the inauguration of its state-of-the-art, fully automated manufacturing plant at Prantij in Gujarat. The company has invested more than ₹ 250 crore in this facility, which it claims as the largest in India for the production of Li-ion battery packs and modules.
"Nexcharge is on a fast-track mode to cater to the diverse segments of transportation industry and utility markets with li-ion batteries of different chemistries assembled at our plant in Prantij. Driven by technology innovations, the facility is in line with our commitment of long-term investments and plans in India", said Stefan Louis, CEO and CTO of Nexcharge.
He further added, "With our 6 assembly lines becoming operational, Nexcharge can now offer a range of products with different applications for our automotive and non-automotive customers. Our team of well-resourced engineers will continue to work to design battery packs as per the customer's requirements which will help us offer high-quality products at competitive prices."
According to the company's press statement, the facility has 6 fully automated assembly lines and testing labs with an installed capacity of 1.5 GWh, to cater energy storage systems for India's EV market and grid-based applications.
Since commencing operations in India in 2018, Nexcharge claims to be working to achieve its vision of fast-tracking India's transformation towards sustainable energy solutions. The upgrades at its manufacturing facility are the next step to becoming the leading supplier of e-transport solutions that will help power the electrification of transport in the form of efficient and reliable energy storage solutions, it says.
At present, the company is already offering battery packs for E2Ws and E3Ws, telecom, UPS, inverter battery packs in industrial and utility including large ESS. It is supported by its in-house R&D facility in Bangalore.
Speaking about the manufacturing plant, Surender Narula, President, Nexcharge, said, "Our current product range is substantial and our new production lines warrants us the flexibility to assemble products of different sizes and designs. We can now make 3V to 1000 V battery packs with sizes varying from 10 centimeters to 2 meters".
The production setup of the plant is divided into three sections - the Module Assembly with 3 production lines for assembling cylindrical, pouch, and prismatic Cells; the Pack Assembly with 2 lines for high voltage and low voltage packs; and the FG Testing section with 20 testers for charging and discharging cycle and BMS functioning.
Sharing his views on the plant, Subir Chakraborty, Managing Director and CEO, Exide Industries, and Chairman Nexcharge, said, "The upgraded facility at Prantij is a step towards Exide's commitment to provide best-in-class batteries and energy storage solutions for automotive and industrial applications as we aspire to become a leading player in the rapidly emerging new-age electric mobility and stationary application businesses in India."