Amara Raja Batteries Limited, a dominant Indian player in lead-acid space, is looking to make a foray into other battery technologies while keeping the cost factor at the core of its business strategy.
According to Business Standard, chairman Ramachandra N Galla of Amara Raja said that besides the alloy development the company are also considering the alternative chemistries. The work on research, capital costs and partnerships is currently underway. Amara expects to finalise the technologies and the investment plans in a year or two.
Batteries are classified by chemistry, and the most common are lead, lithium and nickel-based.Using its international partnerships and R&D, the company has launched new type of products like AGM(absorbed glass mat) and gel platform-based batteries within the lead-acid space in the recent past. It has also developed flat plate gel and tubular gel battery variants, which are expected to be commercially launched in the current year.
Ramachandra Galla says the new plans will not in any way distract the company’s focus on further strengthening its existing business as lead-acid batteries will continue to be the cost effective solution in several existing applications and will be used even in the new-age e-vehicles for ignition, lighting and other requirements.
A recent market estimate suggested that Exide Industries and Amara Raja, the two top domestic battery makers, account for 60 percent of the lead-acid battery market in the country.
