Log9 unveils its latest range of EVs in India

Founded in 2015, Log9 Materials started off as a materials science company with a focus on nanomaterials and Graphene. Incubated at IIT Roorkee’s TIDES, Log9’s vision was to lead the Graphene revolution by introducing real-life products/solutions to the world. Later, the startup positioned itself as a deep-tech and advanced battery and energy storage technology company.

Today, Log9 primarily caters to the e-mobility space. “We are at the forefront of redefining the EV industry’s standards in the fight against climate change, by offering batteries that can be charged 9x faster, can last 9x longer and offer 9x higher performance and safety,” said Dr Akshay Singhal, CEO and founder of Log9 Materials.

With an aim to make India self-reliant in meeting its own electric mobility and EV transformation goals, Log9 has launched India’s first and South Asia’s largest indigenously developed battery cell manufacturing line and made-in-India TiB cells.

“We have grown our headcount by over 10x while nurturing a great work culture and homegrown deep-tech talent. As a brand, Log9’s sole purpose and mission is to pioneer responsible energy, and we are dedicatedly working towards realising this by creating Log9’s responsible energy that comes without compromises or caveats”  

Dr Akshay Singhal

RapidX battery series: The Log9 RapidX series is the safest EV batteries is designed to efficiently power electric vehicles across all Indian and tropical conditions. Built using patented high-power cell technology, the RapidX batteries powered by Log9’s InstaCharge battery tech are extremely durable, with the ability to last longer than conventional batteries without losing their efficiency. Furthermore, the RapidX batteries provide 9x faster charging, 9x better performance, and 9x battery life. Log9’s InstaCharge technology brings down the total charging time which further optimises charging infrastructure and operational profitability; furthermore, these batteries are built to operate across -30° to 60° C and come with an operational life of 15,000+ cycles. Under the RapidX series, Log9 has till date launched two variants – RapidX 2000 and RapidX 6000 batteries, which can fully charge an e-2W in 15 minutes and e-3W in 40 minutes.

ZappUp: ZappUp is a cutting-edge energy storage solution by Log9 that effectively regulates and stabilises supply-demand mismatch by bridging the current gaps in the electric grid. ZappUp can be applied to considerable power and energy services ranging from fast-response ancillary grid services to energy arbitrage and so on. It caters to stationary power capturing renewables and making the energy available to the grid at peak demands. Furthermore, ZappUp’s features allow it to be used and operated in versatile applications like microgrids, UPS, data-centres, telecoms, grid-level energy storage, and industrial applications like in forklifts, robotics, and AGVs.

2022 line-up

“The overall EV adoption in India today stands at 0.8 percent; but the country has set goals to achieve 30 per cent EV adoption in the B2C sector and over 70 per cent adoption in the B2B segment by 2030. To achieve such ambitious goals India needs to accelerate EV adoption through technologies made for India, and also, impetus on B2B electrification should be the go-to route to take. And keeping the same in mind, at the Green Vehicle Expo this year, we at Log9 are proud to be showcasing our complete range of vehicles for last-mile logistics and transportation along with the technology that makes our batteries 9x faster charging, 9x longer life, and most of all, the safest in the market. More importantly, this event provides us with a prolific opportunity and space to highlight our brand identity, vision, technological capabilities and much more amongst relevant stakeholders and the general public at large,” said Akshay.

On July 01, 2022, Log9 unveiled its latest range of electric vehicles for last-mile logistics across different EV platforms – including two-wheelers, three-wheelers and four-wheelers – all of which are instacharged by Log9’s RapidX batteries. 

In the e-2W segment, Log9 introduced the Quanta e-bike made by Gravton Motors, which holds the distinction of travelling from Kanyakumari to Khardung La successfully. It also boasts of being an all-terrain bike, which is a first in its segment.

In the e-3W segment, Log9 introduced the Rage+ RapidEV which has the ability to get charged from 0 to 100 percent in 35 minutes. They also unveiled a e-3W cargo vehicle Grevol– which is India’s first electric 3-wheeler with a load carrying capacity more than electric 4Ws. Both the Rage+ RapidEV and Grevol would be powered by Log9’s newly launched 7.7 kWH battery pack.

Log9, in collaboration with eBikeGo, launched the first of its kind electric trike Velocipedo with an aim to redefine urban mobility.

In the e-4W segment, Log9 tied up with Northway Motors to unveil a retrofitted LCV, claimed to be the fastest-charging 4-wheeler commercial retrofitted vehicle.

The startup also demonstrated the complete portfolio of its batteries including RapidX 2000, RapidX 6000, RapidX 8000 and RapidX 15000, and a range of stationary energy storage solutions – ZappUp 4000 and ZappUp 12000. Log9 also showcased its on-road InstaCharge assistance vehicles, the Power Bank.

Performance and safety

In recent times, safety and quality have taken a back seat in the EV market.

“There are multiple reasons that are contributing to EV 2-wheeler incidents/mishaps that we have noticed recently in the country, that include low-grade battery cells, improper thermal management, wrong cell connection design, comparability and design mismatch between battery and vehicle sub-systems. The Indian Government is currently discussing and revising the country’s battery testing protocols to arrive at standardising batteries and their performance. Additionally, policy frameworking is in progress to ascertain the performance of cells in India with respect to their operating and weather conditions. Companies are also internally setting up QC testing protocols to stress-test batteries and vehicle design to make them safer by adapting a ‘safety-first’ approach.

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“As of today, Indian companies import Li-Ion cells and they make battery packs out of it in India. The major challenge that India is facing is the price sensitivity of its battery packs. Hence the choice of cells being imported in India is mainly NMC cells which are cheaper but come with a risk of becoming thermally unstable under hot weather conditions. To overcome these issues, Indian battery companies and EV companies have to select the right cell chemistry that is more suited to Indian weather and driving conditions. Moreover, battery and EV companies have to work on developing cooling technologies that can ensure that batteries are able to perform their function without overheating. Whereas the really impactful, long-term solution is for India to make cells in India, with chemistries and materials that are more suited for Indian conditions. Log9 is already moving ahead in this path by creating India’s first Li-ion cells named ‘TiB’ cells that can withstand extreme temperatures of Indian and tropical climatic conditions,” he added.

The overall EV adoption in India today stands at 0.8%. However, India has set goals to achieve 30% EV adoption in the B2C sector and over 70% adoption in the B2B by 2030. To achieve such ambitious goals, India needs to accelerate EV adoption through technologies made for India; B2B should be the route to take and that’s exactly what Log9 does.

“For EV adoption in India to happen fast, the maximum number of vehicle deployments initially are bound to come from the B2B sector. In India, 50 lakh deliveries happen each year. And businesses are today competing to get the product to the customer faster and at the lowest delivery cost. With rising fuel prices, the last-mile delivery and logistics sector has got a huge incentive to move to EV vehicles since EV-led deliveries happen at a fraction of a cost than ICE engine deliveries and can thereby lead to significant operational cost savings in the long run,” said Akshay.