Exide Industries (EIL) has announced an investment of ₹1 billion (~$10.38 million) in Exide Energy Solutions (EESL) to fund a gigawatt-scale lithium-ion cell manufacturing facility that is being set up in Bengaluru.

The investment was made through subscription in EESL’s equity capital on a rights basis. EIL bought 28,571,428 equity shares of ₹10 (~$0.10) each at a premium of ₹25 (~$0.26) each.

With the recent investment, EIL’s investment in EESL currently stands at ₹49.02 billion (~$508.85 million).

The development comes months after the board of directors at EIL approved investing up to ₹14 billion (~$145.32 million) by way of subscription in EESL towards the setting up of the cell manufacturing facility, in one or more tranches.

Incorporated on March 24, 2022, EESL manufactures lithium-ion battery cells, modules and packs for the electric vehicle market and stationary applications. The company clocked a turnover of ₹1.58 billion (~$16.36 million) in financial year 2025-26.

In March 2026, EIL had announced an additional investment of ₹4.5 billion (~$47.86 million) in EISL through a rights issue.

Earlier in July, the Ministry of Finance issued a notification amending the customs duty exemption applicable to machinery used in lithium-ion cell manufacturing by replacing the existing list of eligible equipment under the 2002 customs notification.

The revised list covers 85 categories of equipment spanning multiple stages of lithium-ion cell production. These include machinery for electrode preparation, coating, compression, winding, electrolyte filling, degassing, sealing, formation, testing, welding, packaging and final inspection.

The demand for lithium-ion batteries reached 1.6 TWh in 2025 after surpassing 1 TWh in 2024, according to a report published by McKinsey & Company in January 2026. The report stated that the lithium-ion battery market was at an inflection point characterized by rapid demand growth, declining prices, technological advancements and intensifying global competition.

The industry is grappling with significant manufacturing capacity, especially in Asia. The overcapacity has pushed battery prices to historic lows, to around $108/kWh in 2025 in Asia.

In a report in February, the International Energy Agency noted that average battery prices declined by 8% in 2025, supported by advances in manufacturing, improvements in battery chemistries, and intensifying global competition.