March 2, 2023: Exide Industries said on February 28 it proposes to take a stake of up to 40% in a newly incorporated firm to boost the use of renewable energy at its battery manufacturing plants in India.

The lead acid batteries producer told financial regulators the equity stake in Ulric Renewables Private Limited, a special purpose vehicle subsidiary formed by Cleantech Solar India, would support the construction of wind power projects from which Exide could buy up to 19MW of its power needs for plants in the states of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. 

Exide’s planned Rs19.85 crore ($2.4 million) investment would constitute around 39.08% of the total paid-up equity share capital of Ulric.

In January, Exide said it had changed the name of a lithium-focused subsidiary company set up under an initial joint venture with Swiss battery firm Leclanché.

Exide is also collaborating with China’s SVOLT Energy Technology to manufacture lithium ion battery cells in India.

However, Exide CEO and MD Subir Chakraborty said last November that the development and sale of lead batteries continued to be the company’s “core business.