Omega Seiki has partnered with C4V to bring solid state battery development to India.
Story by Team CV

Investing Rs.200 crore in EV space and launching the Singha and Singha Max electric cargo three wheeler in 2020, Omega Seiki, an Anglian mega network company, has partnered with C4V of USA. It has done so in an effort to develop solid state battery technology in India for use in its electric vehicles. Introducing Rage+ Frost cargo electric three wheeler with a refrigerated container for vaccine and pharma transport in first and last mile applications in 2021, the company will leverage C4V’s advanced cell chemistry expertise spanning 10 years and much R&D. Striving to carve out a niche for itself in the emerging electric cargo three wheeler market in India, Omega Seiki, through its association with the New York-based C4V, is keen to locally produce the bio-mineralized lithium mixed metal phosphate batteries. Claimed to be free of toxic and hazardous components, the batteries, based on solid state technology, are also nickel and cobalt free. They are engineered to offer an energy density of 200 Wh per kg, which is claimed to be 20 per cent more than the lithium ferrous phosphate batteries available in the market. Mentioned Omega Seiki sources, the bio-mineralized lithium mixed metal phosphate batteries are not only more affordable but safer than traditional batteries as well. Planning to produce batteries with 400 Wh per kg energy density in India, the company is confident of the ‘green’ nature of the bio-mineralized lithium mixed metal phosphate batteries will generate a strong pull. Said Omega Seiki sources that the C4V slid state tech batteries are one of the greenest in the world right now. They are greener from the extraction of raw materials to the manufacturing and recycling stage, they added.
Drawing attention to the life cycle assessment certification done by New York State Government’s NYSERDA, Omega Seiki sources said that the C4V batteries have almost 85 per cent less carbon footprint than the ones in the market. They have twice the life cycle of traditional lithium-ion batteries, they added. A result of extensive R&D and 10 years of development, the bio-mineralized lithium mixed metal phosphate batteries, according to Shailesh Upreti, Founder, C4V, display better thermally stability and are custom designed to meet emerging market needs where cell manufacturing supply chain hasn’t yet fully matured. In serious discussions with several state governments, Omega Seiki and C4V are working to ensure that the batteries are offering on Omega Seiki’s cargo three wheelers in-line with the philosophy of offering end-to-end solutions. In the process of starting to test the solid-state batteries in its vehicles soon, the company, in 2020, annouced a partnership with FITT (Delhi), an industry interface organisation established by the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IITD) to jointly work on electric vehicle technologies and advanced research. The collaboration was aimed at innovating alternate energy powered vehicles and other emerging technologies. While the higher density and longer life of the bio-mineralized lithium mixed metal phosphate batteries is by the virtue of their using solid electrolyte, their technology is said to woo automotive manufacturers like Toyota too.