India-based battery materials producer LOHUM has raised ₹4.5 billion (~$54 million) in a series B funding from Singularity Growth, Baring Private Equity, Cactus Venture Partners, and Venture East, amongst other new and existing venture firms.

The company will channel these funds to expand its market and scale up its battery materials recycling operations across India. The company will also expand to new energy transition materials markets in North America, the EU, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

LOHUM produces sustainable energy transition materials through battery recycling, raw material refining, and battery repurposing. The company claims to be among the few that houses an end-to-end in-house ecosystem of battery recycling and repurposing, transition materials refining, and Cathode Active Material (CAM).

“We at LOHUM are thrilled to be equipped with the necessary resources for the next stage of our development. The funds will expedite our international expansion, enable us to hire top professionals from talent pools in India, expand our strength, and provide fresh tailwinds to our industry-leading R&D innovation center,” said Rajat Verma, Founder & CEO of LOHUM.

The funding will support the company’s efforts to make battery materials last longer and accelerate sustainable electrification.

“We have seen the company evolve from just being a second-life company to a full-scale material manufacturer around materials like Nickel, Cobalt, and Pre-CAM materials. What impressed us was not just their ability to think globally from day 1, but the fact that they have been able to expand into the entire battery lifecycle management with India as a node,” said Yash Kela, Chief Investment Officer, Singularity Growth.

In 2023, Mercedez-Benz Energy signed a multi-year agreement with LOHUM for the supply of second-life batteries.

Earlier this year, India identified over 30 critical minerals, which will halve the country’s import dependence on these minerals for the development of renewables such as electric vehicles and solar.

According to Mercom Capital Group’s newly released Annual and Q4 2023 Funding and M&A Report for Storage & Grid, the global venture capital funding in the energy storage sector in 2023 reached $9.2 billion, a 59% year-over-year increase from $5.8 billion.