“Over the next five years, India’s vehicle population is expected to experience exponential growth, with a projected count of approximately 252 million two-wheelers and over 96 million four-wheelers in India by 2028”
• AMARA RAJA market share – 30-35%
• OEM market share- 30%
• Telecom – 80+ %
• UPS – 40%
• 60% of the value of the battery is main raw material lead
• 85% of lead comes from recycled process
• Lead procurement – local ( As of NOW)
• 12- 14% export
• Amara Raja Batteries’ board has approved setting up a greenfield lead acid recycling plant with an estimated capacity of 1 lakh tonnes p.a at a total outlay of Rs 280 crores to be spent over the next 18 months. This will help the company comply with recycling standards whilst adopting advance technology in the most environmentally friendly manner
lead recycling plant in Cheyyar,Tamil Nadu,
• First phase of recycling plant with capacity of 1 lakh tonnes is expected to start by Q1 FY25. This would increase the inhouse recycled lead procurement for the company
• This plant will cater to 30% of their lead requirements
• Applications - catering to e-mobility and energy storage applications in India. Such as EV, UPS ( Industries and data centers), Telecom
• Automotive (volume of batteries)
- 19.2 Mn capacity – 4 wheeler
- 30 mn capacity in 2 whheler
• Industiral 2.3 Bn-A-H
• strive to increase the lead procurement Company intends to spend 300-400 cr. for lead acid expansion in FY24 and FY25 respectively
Current scenario.
• Total raw material cost – 568.87 Cr
• Lead recycling FY 23- 69.53% FY 22 63.49% 10 % increase
• Batteries application
• Automotive 32%
• Industrial- 45%
• Total recycled waste- 27,823 MT FY 23
Future Plan of Action
• Development of NextGen Enhanced Flooded batteries for automotive application.
• Development of AUX product range for vehicle electric versions Development of market specific BCI product range Development of AGM product range for start stop application.
• Development of market specific product range of UPS Batteries with Advanced Plate Making Technology Development of robust battery for commercial vehicle applications.
• Study and Concept Evaluation of Advanced Plate making technology for Telecom Application.
• Evaluation of Chemistry Agnostic Solutions for Automotive and Industrial Applications Lead Optimization through Value Engineering Evaluation of different flame-retardant material grades to meet the global regulations/ directives
• New pasting additives to enhance the performance of 4W batteries Improve pasting process to enhance plate electrolyte availability Development of eco-friendly materials for bushing adhesive
• Throughput improvement of 2W negative plates curing process Evaluation & implementation of improved formation process for DIN batteries to reduce formation energy Advanced formation process validation for Flooded automotive batteries
• Develop and implement processes and controls to meet market specific requirements
• Develop & validate acid homogenization process for flooded batteries Screening of Lithium-Cell Technologies of different potential technology partners
• Development of 2170 NMC cylindrical cells with different compositions
• Develop 2/3 series LFP cylindrical cells.
Conclusion
• Amara raja seems to shift its complete focus towards raw material procurement for lead as 80% of it lead requirement has been fulfilled by recycled batteries which has became evident with its recent invsestment in lead recycling plant which expected to cover its 30% requirement of raw material and will benefit the company for longer run. Amara Raja aims for $3 billion revenue in lead acid batteries within 5-7 years
• Amara Raja aims for $3 billion revenue in lead acid batteries within 5-7 years
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• Also company has been focused to increase its new energy business electric mobility and energy storage for which the energy requirement is mostly from li – ion battery based material. mostly based on batteries recycling.
• signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Telangana to establish research and manufacturing facilities for lithium-ion cells and battery packs. The ‘Amara Raja Giga Corridor’ project, with an investment of approximately INR 9,500 crore in capital expenditure and new technology, aims to produce Lithium Cells and Battery Packs with capacities of up to 16GWh and 5GWh, respectively
• For this company has been investing heavily on its R&D centers. And trying to innovate new technologies in LI-ion battery segment which will cater future generation of transportation , may be its logistics or EV sector, two wheeler and 3, 4 wheeler. Targeting to increase its market share in India.
• In November 2022, established Amara Raja Advanced Cell Technologies (ARACT) to focus exclusively on expanding our lithium pack assembly operations as well as to channel our significant investment towards domestic lithium cell manufacturing. Phase 1 will consist of an R&D centre, a pack assembly facility, our commercial pilot line for cells, and 2 GWh of cell manufacturing. All of the required partners have been onboarded and approval processes are underway at the respective government bodies