China's Narada forms JV to produce lithium ion batteries

Swiss battery maker Leclanche SA is partnering with Zhejiang Narada Power Source Co., a leading Chinese battery supplier, to produce lithium ion batteries for electric buses, electric cars and industrial energy storage. 

Leclanche will license its technology to Narada, and the partners will open a 2.5 gigawatt-hour battery factory next year.

"With this partnership, Narada is able to leapfrog five to six years of r&d, while we can access a sizable balance sheet," said Anil Srivastava, CEO of Leclanche.

The batteries to be produced by Leclanche and Narada will give EVs a maximum range of 300 to 400 kilometers, Srivastava
said. 

Narada will make an equity investment in Leclanche, and it also will have a majority stake in the joint venture, which Srivastava expects will begin next summer.

China is the world's fastest-growing market for EVs. In the past year, sales of EVs have more than doubled, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The research unit expects China to account for 40 percent of global EV sales this year.