Cambridge, Massachusetts-headquartered starup 24M Technologies, manufacturers of lithium-ion battery cells, just signed a license agreement with India’s Lucas TVS Ltd., to construct one of the first giga factories in India using 24M’s SemiSolid technology. 24 M most recently raised $56 million in Series E funding from Itochu and others
The first plant near Chennai is expected to start commercial production in the second half of 2023. Its capacity will be increased to a globally competitive scale of 10 GWh in two stages. The company plans to build additional plants throughout India to support the growing market for energy storage solutions. Lucas TVS will build products using different chemistries, in Pouch and Prismatic cell formats, with high energy density. The products will meet customer needs in e-mobility, stationary energy storage, including grid-scale markets, and lead acid battery replacement. Additionally, it will offer complete battery solutions to those customers who need them.
Naoki Ota, CEO of 24M., said, “We are delighted to partner with a market leader like Lucas TVS with a 60+ year track record of performance as a leading provider of electromagnetic solutions to the mobility market. 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 company claims a significantly simpler process flow reducing capital costs substantially. It says that The SemiSolid™ technology enables the production of a thicker electrode, increasing energy density and reducing materials costs. Beyond its cost advantages, 24M’s patented (180 patents) cell design enhances safety, reliability, and traceability, by virtually eliminating potential metal contamination, the most common cause of shorts in conventional lithium-ion cells. In addition to these benefits, the SemiSolid™ electrode eliminates the use of binders and thereby enables the simplest and most efficient recycling of rejected or end of life cells.
