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					</table><p>The <a href="https://european-union.europa.eu/index_en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">European Union</a> and <a href="https://www.india.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">India</a> have announced a matchmaking platform to foster collaboration among startups working towards battery recycling technologies for electric vehicles (EV) in both the regions.</p>
<p>Expressions of Interest have been invited (EoI) for a matchmaking event between European and Indian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and startups in the sector.</p>
<p>The EoIs have to be submitted between April 9 and 30, 2024. The matchmaking event has been tentatively scheduled for June 20.</p>
<p>The platform is expected to allow firms to pitch innovative solutions and engage with venture capitalists and solution adopters based in both countries. Six innovators from India and the EU will be selected.</p>
<p>Twelve innovators, six each from India and the EU, will be selected and get a pitching opportunity during the matchmaking event. Six finalists (three from the EU and three from India) will be chosen following their pitching presentations and awarded the possibility to visit India and the EU, respectively.</p>
<p><strong>Eligibility criteria </strong></p>
<p>Legal entities established in India or EU member states are eligible to apply, provided they are currently engaged in recycling activities for EV batteries.</p>
<p>The EU-based deep technology startups must also demonstrate interest and capacity to enter the Indian market and collaborate with stakeholders.</p>
<p>Applications from advanced-stage deep technology startups or firms in the targeted sector of recycling EV batteries are preferred.</p>
<p>The EU companies will be evaluated on their demonstrated interest and capacity to enter the Indian market and collaborate with the stakeholders in terms of relevant technology and global competitiveness.</p>
<p><strong>Selection Process</strong></p>
<p>Six startups will be selected based on their scores during their presentations. They will also secure an exclusive virtual platform to connect with industry leaders, potential investors, and collaborators from both India and the EU.</p>
<p>To match with policymakers and potential clients, the solutions pitched by EU startups must be valid for application in the Indian market.</p>
<p>Further, three startups from the EU will also be invited to meet with potential partners, customers, and collaborators in India based on the interactions during pitching and individual matchmaking.</p>
<p>This platform proves advantageous for Indian SMEs, as they get access to an exclusive avenue to demonstrate their expertise and establish strategic alliances with their counterparts in the EU. This will primarily benefit firms focusing on waste minimization and resource sustainability in recycling technologies.</p>
<p>The screened-in applications will be asked to present to the selection committee, and the selected application will be notified 25 days after the closing of the application on April 30.</p>
<p><strong>India- EU Trade and Technology Council</strong></p>
<p>This event is part of a broader effort to promote a sustainable agenda, foster innovation, and forge stronger economic relations between the European Union and India.</p>
<p>The initiative stems from the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC), a strategic coordination between the two countries that was announced in April 2022. The TTC is also premised on fostering digital public infrastructures, clean energy technologies, supply chain resilience, and trade issues.</p>
<p>“Our objective is to harmonize efforts with EU innovators to jointly develop battery recycling solutions that drive industry expansion. We are dedicated to fostering a collaborative environment where sustainability and innovation form the cornerstone of a flourishing circular economy”, said  Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.</p>
<p>Last August, a NITI Aayog report had <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/india-potential-attract-global-investments-battery-recycling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pegged</a> India to significantly attract global investments in battery recycling, given that the country’s cumulative reuse volume potential is likely to touch 49 GWh by 2030.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, the EU <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/eu-targets-domestic-green-technology-2030" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushed</a> forth the Net-Zero Industry  Act, legislation supporting domestic manufacturing of key technologies, including batteries.</p>


EU, India Invite Expressions of Interest for Battery Recycling Collaboration


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					</table><p>India-based battery materials producer <u><a href="https://lohum.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LOHUM</a></u> has raised ₹4.5 billion (~$54 million) in a series B funding from Singularity Growth, <a href="https://www.bpepindia.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Baring Private Equity</a>, <a href="https://www.cactusvp.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cactus Venture Partners</a><u>,</u> and <a href="https://www.ventureast.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Venture East</a><u>,</u> amongst other new and existing venture firms.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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).</p>
<p>“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&amp;D innovation center,&#8221; said Rajat Verma, Founder &amp; CEO of LOHUM.</p>
<p>The funding will support the company’s efforts to make battery materials last longer and accelerate sustainable electrification.</p>
<p>&#8220;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.</p>
<p>In 2023, Mercedez-Benz Energy <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/daily-news-wrap-up-sjvn-382-mw-hydropower-himachal-pradesh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> a multi-year agreement with LOHUM for the supply of second-life batteries.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, India <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/india-unveils-critical-clean-energy-and-cut-imports" target="_blank" rel="noopener">identified</a> 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.</p>
<p>According to Mercom Capital Group’s newly released <a href="https://mercomcapital.com/product/annual-q4-2023-funding-ma-report-storage-grid/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Annual and Q4 2023 Funding and M&amp;A Report for Storage &amp; Grid</a>, 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.</p>


Battery Materials Recycler LOHUM Secures ₹4.5 Billion in Series B Funding


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					</table><p><a href="https://state.bihar.gov.in/main/CitizenHome.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bihar</a>’s New Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy aims to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles and the implementation of EV charging stations in the state, ensuring EVs account for 15% of all new vehicles purchased in the state by 2028.</p>
<p>The five-year policy, recently approved by the state cabinet, offers up to ₹125,000 (~$1,499) in purchase incentives for the first 1,000 four-wheeler EV purchases. It also extends a minimum 50% rebate on Motor Vehicle Tax for all new EVs in the state.</p>
<p>The incentives offered under the Bihar Electric Vehicle Policy, 2023, will be in addition to the demand incentives available under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in India (FAME) II program.</p>
<p>The policy implementation will involve a three-tier arrangement for directives, monitoring, and implementation – State Level EV Steering Committee, EV Monitoring Committee &#8211; Transport Department, and District Level EV Committee.</p>
<p><strong>Electric Vehicle Incentives</strong></p>
<p>The policy will offer a purchase incentive of ₹5,000 (~$59.93)/ kWh for the first 10,000 new two-wheeler EVs in the state, with an upper limit of ₹10,000 (~$120) per vehicle for SCT/ST consumers and a maximum of ₹7,500 (~$90) per vehicle for others.</p>
<p>A purchase incentive of ₹10,000 (~$120)/kWh will be offered for the first 1,000 four-wheeler EVs, with an upper limit of ₹150,000 (~$1,797) per vehicle for SC/ST and a maximum of ₹125,000 (~$1,499) for others during the policy period.</p>
<p>It will also provide a 75% rebate in Motor Vehicle Tax for the first 10,000 new purchases and a 50% rebate for subsequent two- and four-wheeler EV purchases.</p>
<p>All licensed aggregators under Bihar Aggregator Operational Directives 2019 will be required to maintain in their two and four-wheeler fleet at least 20% EVs in the first two years, 40% EVs by the end of the third year, and 50% EVs by the end of the fourth year from the date of notification of the policy.</p>
<p>All newly registered commercial electric vehicles, including electric three-wheelers (Passenger Vehicle/Goods Carriage), Light Electric Motor Vehicle (Goods Carriage), and Heavy Electric Motor Vehicle (Bus and Goods Carriage) will be given a due exemption in permit fees.</p>
<p>For all newly purchased Heavy Electric Motor Vehicles (Bus and Goods Carriage), the rebate on Motor Vehicle Tax is set at 75% for the first two years. All subsequent purchases will get a 50% rebate.</p>
<p>Owners of EVs purchased and registered in the state will be eligible for scrapping incentives for old vehicles. Municipal authorities will also provide subsidized parking for all person EVs.</p>
<p><strong>Charging Infrastructure  </strong></p>
<p>Bihar has issued an incentive program for all types of charging stations based on various categories payable for three years.</p>
<p>For Slow/Moderate AC Chargers with three guns, the state will offer up to 75% incentive on the equipment/machinery purchase. It will also provide ₹10,000 (~$120) as installation cost per charger (excluding the cost of land), up to a maximum of ₹50,000 (~$599.23) for the first 600 chargers.</p>
<p>For fast AC chargers with two guns and slow/moderate DC chargers with two guns, the state will offer a 75% incentive on the equipment/machinery purchase. It will also offer ₹25,000 (~$299.62) per charger as installation cost (excluding the cost of land, subject to a maximum of ₹150,000 (~$1,797) for the first 300 chargers.</p>
<p>For a Combined Charging System/CHAdeMO (DC fast charging method) with two guns, the incentive will be 50% of the equipment/machinery purchase cost. It will also provide ₹100,000 (~$1,199) per charger for installation cost (excluding the cost of land), subject to a maximum of ₹1 million (~$11,986) for the first 60 chargers.</p>
<p>All residential and non-residential building owners and associations with a parking area demarcated for at least five equivalent car spaces and bike spaces each will be encouraged through incentives to install at least one Bharat EV AC Charger with three guns.</p>
<p>Public Charging stations can be established on government as well as private land and are to be used for commercial purposes only.</p>
<p>The state has proposed for various government divisions to install 136 public charging stations during the first three years of the policy and 141 over the next two years.</p>
<p>For public charging stations installed on private lands, the incentive will be provided only to the chargers installed in the first three years of the policy.</p>
<p>The public and semi-public charging stations will also receive a 30% subsidy on the power tariff provided by the state transport department.</p>
<p><strong>Battery Recycling</strong></p>
<p>Bihar aims to set up recycling businesses and promote EV battery recycling in collaboration with the battery and EV manufacturers.</p>
<p>The state&#8217;s Industries Department is expected to notify a policy for the reuse of batteries in consultation with the state Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Department and Bihar State Pollution Control Board.</p>
<p>According to the Ministry of Heavy Industries, subsidies worth ₹52.28 billion (~$627 million) under the FAME-II program have been <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/ev-manufacturers-%e2%82%b952-billion-subsidies-december-1-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disbursed</a> to EV manufacturers on the sale of ~1.15 million EVs as of December 2023.</p>
<p>EV sales in India <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/electric-vehicle-sales-q3-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reached</a> 371,214 units in the third quarter of 2023, a year-over-year increase of 40% compared to 264,781 units sold in the same period last year.</p>


Bihar’s New EV Policy to Offer ₹125,000 in Incentives for New Purchases


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					</table><p>Indo-German start-up <a href="https://www.nunam.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nunam</a> is bringing three electric rickshaws to India powered by used batteries from test vehicles in the Audi e-Tron test fleet. The project explores how modules made with high-voltage batteries can be reused after their car life cycle and become a viable second-life use case.</p>
<p>The e-rickshaws powered by second-life batteries are scheduled to hit the roads in India in a pilot project in early 2023. They will be made available to a non-profit organization. Women, in particular, will be able to use the all-electric rickshaws to transport their goods to the market for sale.</p>
<p>“Car batteries are designed to last the life of the car. But even after their initial use in a vehicle, they still have a lot of their power, “said Prodip Chatterjee, Co-founder of Nunam. “For vehicles with lower range and power requirements, as well as the lower overall weight, they are extremely promising. In our second-life project, we reuse batteries from electric cars in electric vehicles. In this way, we’re trying to determine how much power the batteries can still provide in this demanding use case.</p>
<p>The Audi Environmental Foundation funds the non-profit start-up based in Berlin and Bengaluru. Nunam developed the three prototypes in collaboration with the training team at Audi’s Neckarsulm site. This is the first joint project between AUDI AG and the Audi Environmental Foundation in addition to Nunam.</p>
<p>According to Chatterjee, e-rickshaws have an ideal eco-efficiency. With a high-energy-density battery and comparatively low vehicle weight, the electric motor does not have to be particularly powerful since rickshaw drivers in India travel neither fast nor far. While electrically-powered rickshaws are not uncommon on Indian roads, they often run-on lead-acid batteries, which have a relatively short service life and are often not disposed of properly.</p>
<p>The company also has a solution for charging stations deriving power from public grid electricity, which has a high proportion of coal-fired power in India. Nunam’s e-rickshaws charge using power from solar charging stations. The solar panels are located on the roofs of the local partner’s premises. During the day, sunlight charges an e-Tron battery, which acts as a buffer storage unit. And in the evening, the power is passed on to the rickshaws. This approach makes local driving largely carbon-free.</p>
<p>Moreover, after spending its second life in an e-rickshaw, the battery might be used for stationary applications such as LED lighting. The start-up’s primary goal is to develop ways to use old batteries as second-life power storage systems, thus both extending their lives and using resources more efficiently.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.woodmac.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wood Mackenzie</a>, the cumulative lithium-ion battery capacity is likely to <a href="https://mercomindia.com/global-lithium-ion-battery-capacity-to-increase-five-fold/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rise</a> over five-fold to 5,500 GWh between 2021 and 2030, considering the various pipeline capacities announced to meet the rising demand for batteries. This also means an increased need to find new methods to extend batteries&#8217; life cycle for second-life applications, or else the influx of batteries will pose a serious threat to the environment.</p>


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