Battery Tech Startup e-TRNL Energy Bags ₹27 Cr to Scale Li-ion Cell Production

Battery technology startup e-TRNL Energy has raised ₹27.4 crore in a seed funding round led by IAN Alpha Fund of the IAN Group. 

The round saw participation from Navam Capital and Anicut, along with backing from existing investors Speciale Invest, Micelio Mobility, and IIMA Ventures. Also, several angel investors, including Ather Energy co-founders, participated in rounds.

e-TRNL Energy is developing next-generation Lithium-ion battery cells, the company said in a statement. It will utilise the fresh capital to complete product development and demonstrate manufacturing capability on Li-ion battery cells in India.

On the fundraise, Apoorv Shaligram, Co-founder and CEO of e-TRNL Energy, said, “With this funding round, we move towards demonstration, testing and scaling innovation for commercialisation. Beyond positioning India as a leader in energy storage innovations, these efforts strengthen our resilience against global supply chain vulnerabilities in these changing times.”

e-TRNL Energy produces most of its cells in-house through full automation. After scaling its manufacturing capacity, e-TRNL Energy plans to initiate commercial manufacturing at a mass-pilot scale of 250 MWh per year with a roadmap to subsequently scale capacity to 2 GWh per year. 

Rajnish Kapur, Managing Partner, IAN Alpha Fund, said, “India’s energy transition will depend not just on adopting batteries, but on owning core cell design and manufacturing capabilities.”

e-TRNL Energy offers a first-principles rethink of cell architecture and manufacturing, rather than incremental upgrades to legacy designs. Kapur said this integrated approach addressed performance, safety, heating, and cost.

Such innovations within India's capital-efficient environment are essential to deep-tech innovation and growth, noted Anjan Ray, Investment Partner at Navam Capital.