MUMBAI, India and YVERDON, Switzerland and DALLAS, June 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Exide Industries Ltd, India's largest manufacturer of lead acid storage batteries and power storage solutions provider (BSE: 500086), and Leclanché SA (SIX: LECN), one of the world's leading energy storage solution companies, headquartered in Switzerland, announced today a joint venture to build lithium-ion batteries and provide energy storage systems for India's electric vehicle market and grid-based applications.

With all the major cities in the world suffering from record-breaking pollution levels, there is an urgent need for radical new ways to power transport.  Countries all over the world are working to find alternative solutions to reduce harmful NOx emissions, which are damaging to human health and the environment.

As part of the JV, Leclanché will provide access to its knowhow and intellectual property for lithium-ion cells, modules and battery management systems and Exide Industries will leverage its extensive sales network and brand. As a result of this unique combination, the JV is ideally positioned to be a leading provider of storage solutions for electric vehicles and energy storage applications in India and will also contribute to developing solutions to increase the amount of renewable energy that is used and reduce India's dependence on fossil fuels. 

The JV's production plant will be based in Gujarat. Exide Industries, which is committed to setting up large-scale manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries, will be the majority shareholder and Leclanché will be the strategic minority shareholder of the JV. A module and battery pack assembly line is expected to be operational by Q2 2019 and a lithium-ion cell production plant is expected to be in operation by mid 2020. In the intervening period, cells will be sourced from Leclanché's plant in Willstätt, Germany.

The JV will focus on e-transport, stationary energy storage systems and speciality storage markets. In e-transport, the target segment is fleet vehicles including e-buses, e-wheelers and e-rickshaws. 

Gautam Chatterjee, CEO of Exide Industries, said: "Leclanché SA is the perfect partner for us in India. The Company brings superior technology, modules and battery management systems, as well as immediate access to engineering resources to build market-ready products.

"This ideally compliments our leading position in the lead acid storage battery market in India and will allow us to take the lead in the lithium-ion battery industry, which is expected to grow significantly in the next few years.

"Efforts to develop alternate state-of-the-art technologies such as lithium-ion batteries and energy storage solutions are an important step in tackling the environmental challenges."

Anil Srivastava, CEO of Leclanché, said:  "It is a huge honour that Leclanché has been chosen by Exide Industries, India's largest battery manufacturer, to partner with them in their quest to help India achieve its zero emissions goals and reduce the country's dependence on fossil fuel.

"Exide's selection of Leclanché as its partner of choice is a testament to Leclanché's deep knowhow and IP and a significant endorsement of our world-leading cell and energy storage technologies, which are the product of our strong heritage and a decade of investment in lithium-ion R&D and production.  

"In a region that is expected to be one of the world's largest and fastest growing markets for electric vehicles, the JV shall provide Leclanché with giga-scale procurement volumes, which will help reduce costs, and increase recurring annuity revenues, generating recurring stable revenue growth for the Company.  

"This is an important milestone in our stated growth strategy and further evidence that the opportunity for Leclanché is now. We very much look forward to working with Exide Industries in delivering the best that Leclanché has to offer: superior cell technologies, IP and knowhow that combines high quality German engineering and Swiss precision with deep experience in the design and implementation of battery storage solutions."

About Exide Industries
Exide Industries Ltd is India's largest manufacturer of lead acid storage batteries and power storage solutions provider. Its current market capitalisation is close to Rs 215 billion (USD 3.2 billion)

With seven international standard factories spread across the nation for producing batteries, the company offers one of the widest ranges of batteries for every conceivable application in automotive as well as industrial segments. To complete the entire value chain, the company has two captive lead smelting units and two UPS manufacturing facilities. Exide also has manufacturing facilities in Sri Lanka and does business globally through its subsidiaries and international affiliates.

Exide's products are sold globally, particularly in developed markets like Australia, Japan and Western Europe, under its own brand names.

Exide's strong brand pull, established in India for about a hundred years, is supplemented by its nationwide dealer network and a very strong R&D center. With the help of its collaborators – Shin Kobe and Furukawa of Japan, East Penn of the US and Moura of Brazil  - Exide has consistently remained at the cutting edge of international battery technology and introduced various pioneering products and power storage solutions in the Indian and global markets.

Exide's vast product range, that includes everything in lead acid from the smallest UPS batteries to the giant submarine batteries, find applications in automotive, two-wheelers, inverters, UPS, power, telecom, fork-lift trucks and railways, among others. Exide is also present in the non-conventional energy business where it designs and integrates solar and wind power solutions for use in remote areas of the country.

Exide's customer list includes some of the top most international names in industries as diverse as automotive, earth moving equipment, telecom, material handling and UPS manufacturers.

With an annual total income of Rs 92 billion ($ 1.35 billion) in FY 2017-18, the company is the largest among the branded lead acid storage battery businesses in India. The company has been consistently profitable and paying dividend every single year since its inception.

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE): stock code 500086
National Stock Exchange (NSE): ticker symbol EXIDEIND
Calcutta Stock Exchange (CSE): stock code 15060 & 10015060

About Leclanché
Headquartered in Switzerland, Leclanché SA is a leading provider of high quality energy storage solutions designed to accelerate our progress towards a clean energy future.

Leclanché's history and heritage is rooted in over 100 years of battery and energy storage innovation and the Company is a trusted provider of energy storage solutions globally. This coupled with the Company's culture of German engineering and Swiss precision and quality, continues to make Leclanché the partner of choice for both disruptors, established companies and governments who are pioneering positive changes in how energy is produced, distributed and consumed around the world.

The energy transition is being driven primarily by changes in the management of our electricity networks and the electrification of transport, and these two end markets form the backbone of our strategy and business model. Leclanché is at the heart of the convergence of the electrification of transport and the changes in the distribution network. Leclanché is the only listed pure play energy storage company in the world, organised along three business units: stationary storage solutions, etransport solutions and specialty batteries systems. Leclanché is listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange (SIX: LECN).

SIX Swiss Exchange: ticker symbol LECN | ISIN CH 011 030 311 9

Disclaimer
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to Leclanché's business, which can be identified by terminology such as "strategic", "proposes", "to introduce", "will", "planned", "expected", "commitment", "expects", "set", "preparing", "plans", "estimates", "aims", "would", "potential", "awaiting", "estimated", "proposal", or similar expressions, or by expressed or implied discussions regarding the ramp up of Leclanché's production capacity, potential applications for existing products, or regarding potential future revenues from any such products, or potential future sales or earnings of Leclanché or any of its business units.

You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of Leclanché regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee that Leclanché's products will achieve any particular revenue levels. Nor can there be any guarantee that Leclanché, or any of the business units, will achieve any particular financial results.

SOURCE Leclanche