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Energy tech startup ION Energy has sold its advanced electronics business unit Maxwell Energy Systems (MESPL) to automotive component manufacturer Endurance Technologies Limited for $40 Mn.

As part of the transaction, Endurance will purchase a 51% stake in Maxwell for $17.5 Mn (INR 135 Cr) through a combination of primary investment and secondary purchase. The balance 49% will be acquired in a phased manner over 5 years.

Founded in 2016, ION Energy is a cleantech OEM startup backed by Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Climate Capital and YourNest, among others. The Mumbai-based early-stage startup has developed two business products:

• Altergo: An ML-enabled predictive analytics platform for energy assets to help companies make data-driven decisions to improve asset life and performance.
• MESPL: A segment that develops and supplies advanced electronics for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems. It supplies to over 70 automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and battery pack manufacturers across 15+ countries.

MESPL’s flagship product is its smart Battery Management System (BMS) which enables OEMs/battery makers to deploy the battery systems for EVs and energy storage systems. It has an order pipeline of over $19.5 Mn (INR 150 Cr) from OEMs in India & Europe, the company said in a statement.

Feather To Endurance’s Cap

Endurance Tech managing director Anurang Jain said that the MESPL business will be its first EV-specific product. “With fairly rapid vehicle electrification, OEMs have accelerated their EV plans, and are focusing on battery parameters including safety, range and power, and BMS would be a key differentiator. We plan to leverage Maxwell’s technical expertise developed over the years and its BMS deployment experience in Indian and European conditions,” he said.

Endurance Tech caters to two-wheeler and three-wheeler OEMs in India. Its list of products includes aluminium castings, suspensions, transmission and braking systems. In Europe, it predominantly caters to four-wheeler OEMs and mainly supplies aluminium casting products.

Post the acquisition, MESPL is likely to operate as an independent entity. ION’S cofounders, Akhil Panjwani and Alexandre Collet will continue to actively contribute to Maxwell’s future growth over the next 5 years.

It plans to expand its R&D team to 250+ engineers and launch new product platforms for EVs and energy storage systems. MESPL will also strengthen its supply chain and operational ability to serve Endurance Tech’s international EV customers.

ION will now focus entirely on the AI-ML predictive platform to build a predictive analytics platform and help energy companies make better decisions. It was featured in Inc42’s 30 Cleantech Startup Making India’s Future Sustainable list. It works in the fast-growing cleantech segment, competing with the likes of SenseHawk, and Metasys, among others.