Indian EV battery manufacturer Log9 faces blow as Chinese experts yet to get VISA approval

As the New Delhi administration takes its time approving visa requests, Log9 Materials, India's first producer of lithium-ion batteries, issued a warning that the late arrival of Chinese specialists may negatively affect production at its site in Bengaluru.

Citing Pankaj Sharma, co-founder and director of Log9, Reuters reported that "our cell line production will be impacted" if the Chinese engineers are late. “We don't know by how much, but it may theoretically cause the output to become unstable,” he said.

Log9 uses engineers from China to install new gear and update older equipment at its facilities. The speed at which its facility reaches peak output levels will be hampered, according to Sharma, by a four-month wait for the issuance of visas.

An Indian government source said earlier this month that several firms that depend on Chinese expertise wanted quicker clearance for the visa requests of their Chinese suppliers. The remarks come at a time when India is attempting to establish itself as a significant manufacturing base for businesses moving away from China, which is battling slower economic development.

The single manufacturing facility now operated by Log9, located in Bengaluru, has an established yearly capacity for the production of 250 MWh of batteries. As the Indian government pushes for greener technology, its batteries power the electric fleet of logistics behemoths Maersk and Blue Dart Express as well as electric vehicle manufacturers Quantum Energy and Hala Mobility. After recording sales of 4,000 units the previous year, Sharma reported that Log9 had sold over 1,000 battery units so far in 2023. Sharma declined to reveal the manufacturing data.

Amara Raja Batteries and Malaysia's Petronas are among Log9's supporters. In January, the company secured $40 million at a valuation of around $210 million. By the end of this year or the beginning of next, the business will start the next investment round, according to Sharma.