Lohum founder Rajat Verma eyes IPO by 2027, targets 5x capacity addition in 3 yrs

Rajat Verma, founder and CEO of Lohum, says that the battery recycling and critical minerals refining company is considering an initial public offering (IPO) by 2027, and aims to raise $200 million before listing.

“We intend to go public in calendar year 2027, and we are building all the necessary systems and processes that are needed within the organisation to help us get there and deliver to the public market,” he told Fortune India.

Unveiling fundraising plans, Verma said, “From now till IPO, we are looking to garner about $200 million which will be a combination of equity and debt.” The capital will be raised in the next couple of rounds - $100 million in Series C and another $100 million in C. Generally, Series A funding round focuses on scaling a proven business model, while Series C aims for significant expansion, potential acquisition, or preparation for an IPO.

Established in 2018, Lohum is Noida-based India's leading lithium-ion battery recycling company, with a current valuation of $415 million. The debt-free company has raised a total of $114 million in 10 funding rounds in the form of equity since its inception, as per Tracxn report. The funding rounds saw participation from investors like Baring Private Equity Partners, Cactus Venture Partners and Singularity Ventures AMC. As of date, Lohum has 40 institutional investors, led by Baring Private Equity Partners.

Over the years, the company has expanded its presence in the critical minerals and recycling space, focusing on lithium-ion batteries and other critical minerals, which are key for India's electric vehicle industry.

Eyes expansion into critical mineral recycling

Verma points out that Lohum would aggressively expand its lithium recycling capacity to 25-30G watt-hour (Wh) per year by 2027 from the current level of 5GWh. As part of the expansion plan, the company has announced the establishment of a 20,000 MT Cathode Active Material (CAM) manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The CAM is critical components for lithium-ion battery gigafactories. 

"We are going to expand capacity by 70-80% each year for the next two-three years. The expansion is happening both horizontally (adding more critical minerals) and vertically (adding value-added products),” he explained.

Verma also said that as the government of India is very committed to energy transition, aiming to achieve 500 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy generation by 2050, batteries to play a very significant role for mobility to get electrified.

“As lithium carbonate is a crucial precursor in the production of lithium-ion batteries, so it's very important to produce it in the country. As per some estimates, the country needs almost 300,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate. We've set up India's first refinery, which is only 1,000 tonnes per annum. So you can understand how much scope there is from getting from 1,000 tons to 300,000 tonnes per annum,” he explained.

Lohum claims to command 90% share of integrated lithium-ion battery recycling in India, making it one of the largest lithium refiners in the world outside of China. The company has a total of eight facilities - seven in Greater Noida in UP (including India's largest Lithium and Cobalt refineries) and one in Gujarat. The company has a further two facilities in development across South India. The company is expanding globally with joint ventures in the U.S. and Sharjah (with the UAE government as a partner), and further planned expansion in EU.

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