KPIT Technologies marked a significant milestone on Tuesday by unveiling India’s first sodium-ion battery technology. Developed in-house over the past eight years, the technology is now set for external testing and is expected to generate revenues within a year, according to Ravi Pandit, Co-founder, and Chairman of KPIT Technologies.
While some revenues will be generated during the testing phase, the core licensing fees from the sodium-ion battery technology are anticipated to commence after a year. Pandit emphasized that KPIT’s core business, providing software-based solutions to the automotive industry, will remain the primary revenue driver in the future.
For this groundbreaking project, KPIT hired electrochemists, diverging from its usual practice of employing software engineers. After experimenting with various chemistries, the company opted for sodium, a widely available compound, citing several advantages. These include the ability to charge a vehicle for shorter trips in less than half an hour, making it more cost-effective and allowing drivers to undertake more trips in a single day.
Pandit highlighted that the overall cost of the sodium-ion battery will be up to 30% lower than existing alternatives. KPIT is in discussions with existing auto industry clients and others interested in different applications of energy storage.
In terms of safety, Pandit asserted that the sodium-ion-based technology is safer than conventional lithium-ion or lead-acid batteries, which have reported a series of accidents.
During the development stage, the technology underwent internal testing within a smaller group. In the next phase, spanning 6-9 months, it will be tested on select vehicles externally before reaching full commercialization.
KPIT claims to be the first Indian company and the fourth globally to possess a proven technology solution for sodium-ion battery storage. Notably, the UK-based Faradion, another company with similar capabilities, was acquired by Reliance Industries for USD 135 million last year.
While Pandit did not disclose the R&D expenditure, he stated that the technology could lead to the manufacturing of batteries with up to 80% capacity for 5,000 cycles. The development is expected to reduce reliance on imported batteries, and KPIT aims to form partnerships with local firms. Additionally, battery manufacturing may qualify for the government’s production-linked incentive scheme, and there is a proposal for up to a 40% subsidy on investments for setting up capacities for alternate chemistries.
KPIT plans to market the sodium-ion battery technology in export markets, with Europe and East Asia identified as significant opportunities.
