Log 9 Materials Raises $2 Mn From Petronas Ventures And Others Log 9 Materials will use the funds raised from Petronas Ventures to launch and scale up its InstaCharge Network of electric vehicles, it said
By Prabhjeet Bhatla •
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Bengaluru-headquartered advanced batterytech and deeptech startup Log 9 Materials on Friday announced to have concluded its Series A+ capital raise round of $10 million by announcing a $2 million investment from PETRONAS Ventures – the venture capital arm of PETRONAS, a global energy and solutions company. This Series A+ funding round of Log 9 has been led by India's battery major Amara Raja Batteries Ltd.; it also involved the participation of Exfinity Ventures and Sequoia Capital India's Surge Programme, alongside a clutch of strategic angel investors.
The funds raised from PETRONAS Ventures as a part of the Series A+ round along with the funds previously raised in this round will be used by Log 9 to launch and scale their Log 9 InstaCharge Network of electric vehicles --wherein Log 9 has integrated its fast-charging batteries named RapidX Batteries with various two-wheeler and three-wheeler OEMs in order to create RapidEV variants of their existing vehicles. The startup plans to deploy around 5000 vehicles in the next 6 months within its InstaCharge Network. Further, the funds from the Series A+ round will be utilized to develop and scale the technology and manufacturing capabilities of Log 9 from materials to cell to battery pack level.
"We are happy to wind up our Series A+ round with the latest fundraise from PETRONAS Ventures -- which enables us to accelerate our ongoing mission of introducing our breakthrough InstaCharge (rapid charging) battery technology to a plethora of end-users, and in positioning Log 9 as the largest Indian player in advanced cell chemistries. In the future, we at Log 9 have ambitious plans to work with the PETRONAS business units to accelerate renewable energy adoption with our advanced battery solutions for grid-level energy storage. The advancements and OEM level vehicular integrations of Log 9's Aluminum Fuel Cells will also continue to happen in parallel," said Akshay Singhal, founder, and chief executive officer, Log 9 Materials.
For its Rapid Charging Battery Packs, Log 9 has already completed 10+ pilots with various last-mile fleet operators for a run of over 3,000 kms without any degradation, consistent load carrying capacity, persistent InstaCharging and high uptime of vehicles. Log 9's batteries are capable of fully charging in 15 minutes for a two-wheeler and 40 minutes for a three-wheeler, making them ideal for commercial use cases. Furthermore, these batteries have a life of over 15,000 cycles, corresponding to over 15 years of usage, with already being certified less than 3% degradation in the life of a typical last-mile delivery vehicle. The commercial launch of Log 9's Rapid Charging Batteries is scheduled for October 2021.
"Log9's technology and solution are aligned with PETRONAS Ventures investment focus in the space of future of Energy' and we believe that this investment will complement PETRONAS' growth in the new energy business. The passion and determination shown by Log 9 management team coupled with their vision, resonates with PETRONAS' Statement of Purpose and sustainability agenda, in harnessing the good in energy to elevate and enrich lives for a sustainable future," added Arni Laily Anwarrudin, head, PETRONAS Ventures.
The startup aims to be the first company in the country to set up large-scale cell manufacturing of advanced battery technologies.
