Amara Raja, Johnson Controls tie-up to bring new battery technologies

Amara Raja Batteries Ltd and Johnson Controls, Inc. have signed a technology collaboration agreement to bring a new wave of battery technologies to India. Expanding on their 20 year partnership, the 2 companies will share and improve product design and manufacturing technologies enabling higher performance across Starting, Lighting and Ignition (SLI), Enhanced Flooded Batteries (EFB) and Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) batteries. These advanced batteries are fundamental to enabling sophisticated consumer features and stricter emission standards in automotive vehicles.

As part of this collaboration, Amara Raja will license Johnson Controls’ proprietary PowerFrame grid technology. This patented technology is up to 66 percent more durable and more corrosionresistant than other grid designs. PowerFrame grid technology has been tested in multiple cities around the world, in the most extreme, real-world conditions, across the full range of automotive low-voltage battery products. The advanced grid technology is also critical to meeting performance requirements associated with the BS-VI environmental norms going into effect in 2020.

Jayadev Galla, Vice-Chairman and Managing director, Amara Raja Batteries Ltd, said, “We offer innovative and the most advanced technologies to our customers, and our partnership with Johnson Controls has been a great enabler to our growth over the last many years. We have laid out a clear road map for longterm strategic growth and will continue to make investments in technology capabilities, capacity building, brands and distribution. The new technology collaboration agreement with Johnson Controls will help us bring continued advancements in the products and technologies that meet our customers’ future needs. This is synergistic to our motto of ‘Gotta be a better way.”

Joseph Walicki, President, Power Solutions, Johnson Controls, said, “Johnson Controls has been at the forefront of offering the advanced battery solutions to meet the ever-increasing demands of automotives. Our PowerFrame grid technology coupled with the EFB and AGM products that we manufacture provide the highest reliability and optimal performance to meet our customers’ present and future needs. We are very pleased with the successful growth of Amara Raja over the years and are excited to strengthen our partnership through this technology collaboration agreement.”

A company with 26% equity each from the Galla Family and Johnson Controls Inc., USA, Amara Raja Batteries Limited is the technology leader and one of the largest manufacturers of lead-acid batteries for both industrial and automotive applications in the Indian storage battery industry.

New factory

In order to meet the growing demand, recently the battery manufacturer has also laid the foundation stone for its third automotive battery plant at Amara Raja Growth Corridor Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh. Amaranatha Reddy, Minister for Industries, Food Processing, Agri-Business, Commerce and Public Enterprises, Government of Andhra Pradesh laid the Foundation Stone. Dr Ramachandra N Galla, Chairman, Amara Raja Group and Vijayanand S, CEO, Amara Raja Batteries Limited, were present along with the senior management team of Amara Raja.

In the first phase, the new facility will have a capacity of 6.5 million units. The estimated investment for the first phase is Rs 700 crore and it will employ 1300 people at its full capacity. The plant is designed to eventually scale up to 10.8 million units, making it one of the largest facilities of its kind in the country.