Salcomp ties up with Flowtrik to make EV chargers

CHENNAI: Finnish mobile phone charger maker Salcomp tying up with city based startup Flowtrik Technologies will start making chargers for electric vehicles (EV), said top officials.

The two companies signed up a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday here to this effect.

As per the agreement, Salcomp will be the exclusive manufacturing and business development partner for Flowtrik.

Flowtrik incubated at the IIT Madras Incubation Cell will design and develop the chargers for advanced batteries (such as lithium ion, lead acid and others) used in EVs.

“We will make the chargers. There are synergies with our existing manufacturing facilities - like the moulding machines and other infrastructure. There is a big opportunity for vertical integration. Lot of electronics are common. We source a huge amount of raw materials for making mobile phone chargers and that economies of scale can be leveraged for making the EV chargers,” said Sasikumar Gendham, MD, Salcomp India.

Salcomp makes about 100 million mobile charges per year in India - seven factories, 12,000 workers- and globally about 300 million per year. By the end of this year, Salcomp will touch one billion Made in India chargers.

Gendham said the EV chargers to be made at its plant will be for the Indian market.

Salcomp is already making EV chargers for cars for overseas market but in small volumes and the segment is not new for the group, Gendham added.

According to him, vendors for cable for EV chargers have to be developed.

“Initially the chargers designed and developed by Flowtrik and made by Salcomp will be for small EVs. We will also launch fast chargers,” Prof Ashok Jhunjhunwala, president, IIT Madras Research Park, IITM Incubation Cell said. Jhunjhunwala said the Flowtrik chargers meet all the existing standards.

According to Anitha Dhianeshwer, co-founder, Flowtrik, the 20-member team size makes portable chargers for EVs.