Viz-A-Viz with Anshul Gupta, Director, Okaya Power Pvt Ltd

Q. What are the initiatives Okaya has taken in contributing towards India’s clean and green energy initiative?

Okaya is working continuously to introduce new technologies in Solar energy storage segment and contribute towards the country’s clean and green energy initiatives. Use of solar energy has become more main stream after the launch of the government’s ‘Saubhagya Yojna’ or Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojna which has been truly instrumental in highlighting the huge requirement of renewable power in the rural and urban areas.

Okaya is committed to contribute in this noble initiative by launching more and more innovative products for the masses. Our customised solutions for Lithium battery requirements enjoy dominant market share in solar power projects, 2-wheelers, E-rickshaw and UPS segment already.

With Lithium batteries, Okaya has set in motion another big revolution in power storage solutions. At Okaya, we have achieved distinct technological advancements in cell structure with simultaneously commanding excellence in bringing various new innovations in module design of energy storage solutions.

As a top-notch brand of batteries, we are offering a wide range of solar batteries which enjoy high demand in the market due to their easy and efficient working. Okaya has also organized various programs such as ‘Power for Poor’- to provide electricity in the rural areas and free medical camps to assist the underprivileged.

Further, it supports a sustainable environment through energy savings and greener products & services. They have organized the disposal and recycling of lead acid batteries through their Metal Green Project authorized by the Central Pollution Control Board under the Ministry of Environment to recycle batteries.

Q. As Okaya is the manufacturer of 100% Tubular batteries, please tell our readers more about Okaya and its product offerings.

Dominating the non-conventional power supply industry for nearly three decades, India’s third largest power back up company, Okaya Power Private Limited (Okaya) has abundantly surpassed all competition. Continuing with its mission to drive innovation in every new segment it enters, Okaya has taken the market by storm with its well-diversified product portfolio. Okaya has six major divisions that manufacture high quality batteries in the Inverter, Solar, Automotive, E-Rickshaw and SMF (VRLA) categories supported with one of the largest channel and service network PAN India.

A symbol of trust and quality for years, Okaya manufactures 100% tubular batteries that is best used for inverters and solar application. It produces the most advanced automotive batteries using the state-of-the-art technology powered with Calcium (More Power) and Silver+ (Longer Life), HCP (High Cranking Performance) for an excellent maintenance free battery experience. Moreover, with its customised solutions for Lithium ion battery requirements, Okaya enjoys dominant market share in solar power projects, 2-wheelers, E-rickshaw and UPS segment already.

For four wheelers, it is looking forward to join hands with a couple of OEMs. The exciting Lithium ion based batteries product range rolled out by Okaya has already started receiving positive feedback and rave reviews from all the stakeholders of the industry including its customers alike. The company has already supplied its batteries to some of the big solar projects across the country.

Q. Being one of the leaders in the battery industry, what technological advances have Okaya recently been focusing on and what drives the company to bring innovation in the solar industry?

‘Okaya Power Private Limited’ has the vision to meet the growing power needs of the country which is undergoing industrialisation and urbanisation at a fast pace. As far as the new technological advances are concerned, we have developed our own battery management systems for various applications, keeping safety as our priority. For example in our Lithium ion batteries, we have trimmed down the traditional battery size, putting more power in a much smaller space.

With a higher cycle life and better performance factor, these light weight batteries can outperform regular lead acid batteries. In view of India being a very hot climate country, Okaya has developed products which can bear extreme heat. It has developed PCB to protect its user friendly batteries with performance 5 times more than conventional lead-acid batteries, keeping in mind extreme temperature, harsh environmental conditions in India and user’s low technical knowhow. Currently in India there is a wide gap between supply and demand in the solar energy segment and the scenario has driven us to bring a wide range of innovations in solar industry.

Q. How suitable are the regulatory framework and market structure for energy storage business in India?

The government has been very supportive in terms of generating demand and creating awareness among the consumers to adopt renewable energy. As per Niti Ayog’s projections, India’s energy storage mission has already become a oneof-a-kind opportunity for the energy storage business in India. The energy storage mission also aims to create conducive regulatory framework and a comprehensive market structure for the growth of energy storage business in India.

Q. What do you think the government should do to extend more support to this segment?

In order to realise its full potential, energy storage segment in India requires strategic support from the government, especially under its flagship make in India initiative. It is required to create more conducive environment to encourage collaborations with global players to share technology and improve the quality of manufacturing. This will improve the ecosystem of the industry and make it more competitive. The current scenario also calls support from the government for the penetration of lithium battery technology across various product segments. We expect the government to act as a facilitator to transform the industry into a global hub for manufacturing energy storage solutions.

Q. In your view, what will be the future of Liion batteries in India in coming years?

On the back of the government’s huge focus on promoting renewable energy and that the lithium-ion batteries are considered the best option for a solar panel system, the future of Lithium batteries is exceptionally bright. The unique properties of lithium batteries such as high efficiency and much longer life span have made them the most desired choice for the consumer electronics market as well. Moreover with the growth in the electrical vehicle segment, the lithium-ion batteries are all set to embrace a future much more inspiring in the coming years.

Q. Please tell us something about Okaya’s state-of-the-art manufacturing and R&D facilities.

‘Okaya’ is among the fastest growing battery brands in India with an installation base of more than 5 million plus batteries and a nationwide network of more than 25,000 + dealers, 1000 + distributors, 35 branch offices and five plants. In view of India being a very hot climate country, Okaya has developed products which can bear extreme heat. We have developed PCB to protect our user friendly batteries with performance 5 times more than conventional lead-acid batteries, keeping in mind extreme temperature, harsh environmental conditions in India and user’s low technical knowhow.

Q. How do you ensure the quality standards of your products?

Besides having a world-class manufacturing unit, it also has battery life testing equipments which give the company an edge in maintaining high standards in quality. ‘Okaya’ uses Japanese technology to produce durable and internationalstandard batteries. The company has a vision to meet the power needs of modern India which is growing and developing fast.

Q. Okaya eyes over 100% growth every year in lithium segment till 2022. Please explain.

Lithium- solar energy- is the biggest opportunity and India’s third largest power back-up company Okaya Power Pvt. Limited is already among the frontrunners in this segment. The market is expected to be of Rs 1.90 lakh crores for lithium batteries by 2030 in India and Okaya has big plans to grab majority of market share in this category. We at Okaya aim to achieve Rs 150 crores from a nascent market of Rs 450 crores in the lithium segment within our first 9 months of operation.

Further we look forward to achieve 100% growth every year till 2022.The exciting Lithium ion based batteries product range rolled out by Okaya has already started receiving positive feedback and rave reviews from all the stakeholders of the industry including its customers alike and we are very bullish on the growth prospects of Okaya in this segment.