Electrovaya to supply U.S. firm with batteries for electric vehicles

(Reuters) – Canada’s Electrovaya Inc said on Tuesday it signed an agreement to supply lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles to an original equipment maker, its second such deal with a NYSE-listed Fortune 1000 company.

The company, which did not name the buyer, said the latest project would start immediately, with large volume commercial production beginning in late 2017.

Electrovaya, which boasts Tata Motors, Chrysler and NASA among its customers, said in July that it expects revenue of $80 million over three years from a deal with another U.S.-based original equipment maker.

While lithium-ion batteries are mostly used in consumer devices such as smartphones as well as electric cars, Elon Musk-backed Tesla Inc sparked interest in the idea of self-powered homes, when it said in April 2015 that it would start selling such batteries for households.

Electrovaya acquired Germany-based Litarion GmbH, a joint venture between Daimler AG and Evonik AG, last year to boost its global presence and compete with larger players such as Tesla.

Electrovaya has signed a number of supply deals this year, including for residential energy storage and most recently one with Hyster-Yale, an Ohio-based maker of lift trucks.

Such deals have helped Electrovaya’s shares surge about 400 percent this year, giving the company a market capitalization of about C$300 million ($227 million).

(Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza)