Maxvolt Energy, a manufacturer of lithium battery packs, has raised $1.5 million from angel investors to introduce fast-charging lithium-ion batteries and build recycling plants.

The company said that the capital injection will support Maxvolt’s research and development into lithium battery architectures for electric vehicles such as scooters and rickshaws, energy storage systems, and medical devices. A key focus will be reducing charging times for their batteries.

“We are developing a fast-charging solution that will significantly reduce customers’ charging times. In the prototype development phase, the company aims to launch the final product in phases by the end of 2024 after thorough R&D,” said Satendra Shukla, Chief Business Officer at Maxvolt Energy. “In the first phase, we will reduce the charging time to 2 hours and 1 hour in the subsequent phase.”

Maxvolt is also working on reusing and recycling old batteries, preparing them for a “second life” in applications like solar streetlights and portable electronics. The company also plans to establish recycling plants.

The Noida-based company, founded in 2019, generated revenue of ₹486 million (~$5.84 million) last fiscal year with a 100% year-over-year growth.

According to Mercom Capital Group’s 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.

In 2022, an International Energy Agency report said the demand for EV batteries will increase from 340 GWh to over 3,500 GWh by 2030. It said that innovation and alternative chemistries that require smaller quantities of critical minerals and extensive battery recycling could ease demand pressure and avoid bottlenecks.

Last October, Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy R K Singh said the government was working on another Production Linked Incentive for batteries to reduce the cost of storage and boost the adoption of EVs.