India’s Lohum to set up $30 million battery facility in US

India’s battery-tech startup Lohum Cleantech will set up a lithium-ion battery materials processing facility in the US in partnership with ReElement Technologies and American Metals for USD 30 million.

The partnership would initially support more than 315,000 units of electric vehicles (EVs) annually, according to a media release.

The joint 15.5 GWh facility will also create 250 green jobs, Lohum said. 

The initial operating location will be at the Marion Advanced Technology Center in Indiana, and expand to other locations as determined by the joint venture parties, the companies said in a statement, according to a report by IANS.

“The joint venture will be instrumental in building resilient critical material supply chains in the US that can sustain themselves through circularity. This is an inspiring development in US-India technology collaboration through market entities,” said Rajat Verma, Founder and CEO, Lohum.

The integrated end-to-end battery and critical minerals lifecycle management facility will host the entire value chain from battery cell testing and segregation for second-life energy storage applications to recycling, mineral refining, engineered materials, and battery-grade products.

The facility will produce critical materials with purity levels greater than 99.5%, which can then circulate in the US domestic battery ecosystem.

Mark Jensen, Chairman of American Metals and ReElement Technologies, said they have been working with Lohum to figure out how to leverage “our unique capabilities and world-leading technologies at ReElement along with the innovative and scaled up approach to critical mineral’s recycling and refining that Lohum has established”.

In March, Lohum raised USD 54 million in series B funding from Singularity Growth, Baring Private Equity, Cactus Venture Partners and Venture East, among others.