Everybody looking for China Plus One options, says Godi India CEO

'We are in the process of closing around $40 million and also working to raise $150 million', said Mahesh Godi

Hyderabad-based Godi India, which is set to become the first Indian commercial manufacturer of lithium-ion cells this August, is betting big on the growth of electric vehicles in the country. Mahesh Godi, founder and chief executive officer, talks to Shine Jacob about the company’s road map and the sector’s potential in India. Edited excerpts:

You have formed a public-private partnership with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Central Electrochemical Research Institute. What is its significance?

To date, no company in India has a commercial lithium-ion cell manufacturing facility or technology. We have validation and testing done by TUV (a third-party testing agency) and we are also the first domestic company to be certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). This will be the first cell made in India.

The CSIR facility has all the equipment installed and they were looking for a partner to operate it (in Chennai). They don’t have the supply chain and manpower. We have gone through the tendering process and will be managing the facility for the next five years. This is also the first public-private partnership on lithium-ion cells.

What will be the advantage for a customer opting for your cells?

We are going to manufacture from August 1 and will start delivering within 15 days of that to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). It will be the first Indian-made cell to be delivered to OEMs. Till now, it was 100 per cent imported. We are going to manufacture cells at par with the cells they are getting from different markets. We are also going to reduce the rates it further down by 7 per cent because there will be a reduction in customs duty.

We will also be manufacturing cells suited for Indian weather conditions and roads conditions. Imported cells are for global markets, while ours is tailor-made for India.  

What is the status of your talks for tie-ups with OEMs and what are your expansion plans?

I have met almost all the OEMs. They want to have us as one of their suppliers. In a few cases, we are going to set up dedicated factories for them. This includes manufacturers of two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and four-wheelers. In another two months we will announce the tie-ups.

We have our own facility in Hyderabad. By next year, our giga factory with 120 cells per minute capacity will come up. The criterion set by OEMs is that they want it to be benchmarked to cells they are getting from overseas suppliers.

How do you see the growth potential in the Indian market?

We are in talks with states like Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka for setting up manufacturing units. As a country, India will need a 500 giga watt hour (Gwh) capacity by 2027 and till now we don’t even have 100 Mwh. We expect the size of the industry to be around $50 billion in value terms by 2027.

We have got enquiries worth around $50 million from Europe and North America because everybody is looking for China Plus One options. We may take another four months to deliver this.

Recently you raised funds from Blue Ashva Capital. Are you looking at similar rounds to fund the expansion?

We are in the process of closing around $40 million and also working to raise $150 million. We are going to raise this within a year. Of that, 20-30 per cent will be spent on research and development.

Where will you be sourcing your raw materials from?

India does not have resources like lithium, nickel, and cobalt. We depend on South America, Africa, and Australia. As far as our company is concerned, our suppliers have mines in these countries.

When we are talking about suppliers, they have mines leased for 50 years in different locations. They are suppliers for the same giga factories in China and Korea too.