Climate Insider Brief:
- Lohum, a battery manufacturing and recycling firm, secured Rs 119 crore ($14 million) in a funding round led by Singularity Growth. Other major contributors to this round include Vyoman India and Baring Private Equity.
- With the infusion of fresh capital, Lohum aims to bolster its marketing efforts and make strategic capital expenditures.
- The funding round reflects broader trends in the Indian battery technology sector, which is experiencing robust growth amid the electrification drive.
PRESS RELEASE – March 11, 2024 – Battery manufacturing and recycling firm Lohum has raised Rs 119 crore ($14 million) in a funding round led by investment firm Singularity Growth.
Mumbai-based Singularity Growth, which counts CaratLane founder Mithun Sacheti among its backers, put in Rs 55 crore in this round of funding, with Vyoman India bringing in Rs 11 crore and Baring Private Equity contributing Rs 10 crore, filings with the Registrar of Companies (ROC) showed.
Lohum had raised $23 million in a funding round led by Baring Private Equity Partners in early February. The round had also seen participation from Singularity Growth, Cactus Partners, Chhattisgarh Investment Limited, Ventureast Proactive Fund, and Stride Ventures.
In the latest round, the firm issued 844 compulsorily convertible preference shares priced at about Rs 14 lakh each. It will use the funds raised for marketing and other capital expenditure, it said in the filings, without giving further details.
The funding was first reported by news portal Entrackr. Lohum did not reply to a request for comment on the latest funding.
In January 2022, ET had reported that the firm was looking to raise a total of $100 million in funding, according to founder and chief executive Rajat Verma. The firm, which recycles lithium ion batteries to produce battery materials, was looking to increase its recycling capacity to 1 million units per annum with that funding, Verma had said at the time.
In September last year, Lohum announced its foray into Nepal with plans to supply 25,000 MT of electric vehicle battery materials to multiple firms that work with automobile brands. It has a combined capacity of 4 gigawatt hours and employs 600 people, according to its website.
A number of battery tech startups raised funding during 2023, as the Indian EV sector continues to grow. Battery tech startup Log9 raised $40 million in a funding round led by Amara Raja Batteries and Petronas Ventures in January 2023. BatX Energies, which also recycles lithium ion batteries, raised $5 million in funding from Zephyr Peacock and Lets Venture in December 2023.
To stay informed about the climate industry explore our latest climate tech news.
SOURCE: Economictimes
Featured Image: Credit: Lohum
