Electrovaya Lands US$26-Million Janus Electric Deal for Swappable Truck Batteries

Mississauga-based battery maker Electrovaya Inc. has signed a strategic agreement with Australia's Janus Electric to supply lithium-ion battery systems for heavy-duty electric truck conversions in Canada and the United States. The deal, announced last week, comes with about US$26 million in initial purchase orders.

How the swap system works

Janus converts diesel Class 8 trucks to battery-electric and powers them with swappable battery packs, so fleets can exchange batteries in minutes rather than wait hours to recharge. Each conversion will use around 600 kilowatt-hours of Electrovaya batteries, split between two packs. Janus has orders and commitments for 118 truck conversions in the U.S. and Canada.

The first shipments are going to California for drayage operations, where trucks haul containers on short, repeat routes between ports and nearby warehouses. Electrovaya CEO Dr. Raj Das Gupta called that work "the low-hanging fruit," noting a single container ship can generate at least 2,000 truck trips.

The battery technology

Electrovaya's Infinity Battery Technology has three claimed advantages:

• Safety: Conventional lithium-ion batteries use plastic separators that can shrink when overheated, resulting in short circuits and fires. Electrovaya's separators are more than 90 per cent ceramic by weight, making the material much more resilient to thermal exposure.
• Cycle life: Electrovaya's batteries can do about 15,000 charge cycles before capacity drops; a typical phone battery can do 1,000 cycles. That longevity matters in a swapping model, where packs may be exchanged several times a day.
• Power density: Lets the batteries charge faster, reducing swap-station dwell time.

Canadian production angle

The first Janus systems will be built at Electrovaya's factory in Mississauga. Longer term, some will come from Electrovaya's upcoming plant in Jamestown, N.Y., which will make cells, modules and packs and is expected to come online next year. Most of its output is expected to go to energy storage.

Electrovaya has also agreed to invest about US$1.4 million in Janus for up to 4.2 million shares, plus up to 6.3 million warrants. Das Gupta said Canada-U.S. political tensions have not affected the project. "We have both flags in front of the buildings," he said, adding that Electrovaya's real competition is in Asia, especially China.

In 2027, Electrovaya expects to deliver batteries for more than 100 Janus vehicles, likely early in the year, with more demand to follow.

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