Amara Raja invests in EV battery startup Log 9 Materials

Bengaluru: Log 9 Materials, a startup building advanced battery and fuel technologies for electric vehicles, has raised $8.5 million in a funding round led by Amara Raja Batteries Ltd.

The investment gives the listed battery maker an 11.36% stake in the startup, making it the primary partner for manufacturing EV batteries and developing fuel cell technologies.

The fundraising also saw participation of existing investors Sequoia India Surge and Exfinity Venture Partners, apart from angels like Blackbuck’s Rajesh Yabaji and Chanakya Hridaya and Premji Invest’s Rajesh Ramaiah.


“The partnership will enable us to propel commercialisation at scale of our Rapid Charging Batteries, which in turn shall play a major role in Log 9 eventually becoming the frontrunner and one of the largest Indian players in advanced cell chemistries,” said Akshay Singhal, founder and chief executive at Log 9 Materials.

The startup, which was incubated at IIT Roorkee, has developed rapid-charging batteries for electric two- and three-wheelers. It is also developing an aluminum fuel-cell technology that is aimed at long-haul electric mobility and an alternative to diesel generators.

Log 9 said that it aims to raise between $10-12 million in its ongoing Series A+ funding round, and will use the capital to scale up manufacturing of its fast charging batteries for EVs. While the company has already run pilot deployments for the technology, it said it is targeting October 2021 for commercial rollout of the product.

“This will mark the first in a series of interesting developments that we plan to execute in the future. We believe that Log 9 has made great progress in developing a range of technologies that will prove very promising in emerging mobility applications,” said Vikramadithya Gourineni, executive director at Amara Raja Batteries.

Log 9 had previously raised $3.5 million from Sequoia India's scale-up program Surge and Exfinity Venture Partners in October 2019.