Ratan Tata-Founded Electra EV Bets Big on BESS; Inorganic Moves Also Part of Growth Strategy

Electra EV's BESS business is expected to earn almost 25% of its total revenue next year. 

Along with the EV trend emerges a swiftly growing segment which also requires the same batteries that power motor-driven vehicles. That’s the Battery Energy Storage System segment, which is expected to also power India’s green future. For Pune-headquartered EV powertrain supplier Electra EV, BESS is as big an opportunity as EVs.

“Because we do batteries, and because we have similar batteries that are used, there is almost a doubling of our forecast (for BESS),” Samir Yajnik, ED and CEO, Electra EV tells Acko Drive. Utility-scale, Commercial and Industrial, and Residential are key customer sectors for BESS. Yajnik says BESS forms the fourth dimension of Electra EV’s four-pronged business strategy. Battery pack, traction system, and SDV (Software Defined Vehicle) are the other three.  

Electra EV, founded in 2017 by Ratan Tata, started off its journey as a powertrain supplier for Tata Motors’ EVs such as the Ace EV and Tigor EV. The ₹250 crore company earned around 95% of its revenue last year from the automobile major. With the addition of new customers, Electra EV expects that figure to drop to 70% during this year. BESS and overseas business together are expected to contribute 10% of the company’s target revenue of over ₹300 crore this year. The BESS business is expected to grow faster and earn “almost 25%” of the total revenue for Electra EV next year. 

The EV systems supplier is also looking at tapping overseas markets. It’s adopting a dual strategy of markets like Europe for technology and margin, and regions like Africa and South East Asia for business scale. Electra EV has already supplied EV powertrains to UK, and the EU.

Scale-up plans

As Electra EV scales up its business, a listing on the bourse is “definitely an option”, but the company may look at some merger and acquisition moves before that. It may set up an SBU (Strategic Business Unit) or two also in its growth journey. “Even with BESS coming, that's looking like a possibility,” says Yajnik.  

Electra EV has a 2.2 GWh production facility in Coimbatore, which is planned to be scaled up to 2.9 GWh by the next financial year. Less than 50% of the capacity is currently utilised, but with the growth prospects for the BESS business, Yajnik sees a possibility that Electra EV “might have to grow beyond Coimbatore”. 

The Indian BESS market was pegged at around ₹250 million in 2024, and it is projected to reach $1.2 billion by 2030, according to a Noida based market research firm MarkNtel. 

Beyond 4-wheelers

Though the Indian EV industry has the two-wheeler segment as its key driver, Electra EV is yet to make an entry into that space. It is learnt that there has been some Japanese interest in Electra EV’s technology for two-wheelers, but no deal has been struck yet. The company has entered the three-wheeler space by bagging a mandate as a supplier to TVS Motor.

In the evolving segments of EVs, and energy storage systems, Electra EV and its industry peers can expect a good charge in business, and competition too.