BENGALURU (Reuters) – The Indian unit of Japan’s Toshiba will supply its SCiB rechargeable lithium-ion cells for 10,000 electric delivery vans made by Indian start-up EVage, the companies said on Tuesday.
This is the first deployment of lithium titanium oxide (LTO) cells into commercial delivery vans and will help EVage vehicles with battery safety and performance, the companies said.
Chandigarh-based EVage had raised $28 million from U.S.-based venture capital firm RedBlue Capital earlier this year, to help complete its factory in northern India and begin delivery of vehicles.
Like electric vehicle (EV) makers Rivian in the United States and Arrival in the UK, EVage is betting on delivery companies globally to shift to cleaner mobility.
In India’s nascent EV market, Amazon.com Inc aims to have 10,000 EVs for deliveries by 2025, while Walmart Inc’s Flipkart plans to have 25,000 EVs by 2030.
EVage, a key supplier to companies like Amazon and Delhivery, is the first company building an electric van in India from the ground-up and will now be the first to use Toshiba’s SCiB cell technology.
(Reporting by Meenakshi Maidas in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza)
