Electrovaya has a new customer in heavy trucks. The Canadian battery maker (Nasdaq and TSX: ELVA) has signed a strategic supply agreement with Janus Electric (ASX: JNS), with about US$26 million in initial purchase orders. Janus converts diesel Class 8 prime movers to battery-electric operation and pairs them with swappable packs and its Charge & Change Stations.
The deal
- Batteries per truck: about 600 kWh of Electrovaya batteries per conversion, split between two packs, according to Electric Autonomy.
- Order book: Janus has orders and commitments for 118 truck conversions in the US and Canada, Electrovaya says.
- Equity stake: Electrovaya will invest about US$1.4 million in Janus for up to 4.2 million shares, plus up to 6.3 million warrants.
We reported on Janus's own repeat order on Nov. 2; this is the battery supplier's side of the arrangement.
Where the trucks go first
Electric Autonomy reports that the first shipments are headed to California for port drayage, short repeat routes between container terminals and warehouses. «It's a new vertical for the company», Electrovaya CEO Raj Das Gupta told the outlet. He called drayage «the low-hanging fruit».
The first Janus systems will be built at Electrovaya's Mississauga, Ontario, factory. Later, some will come from its planned plant in Jamestown, New York, which Electric Autonomy says is expected online next year, with most output going to energy storage. Das Gupta pointed to the batteries' ceramic-heavy separators and about 15,000-cycle life as suited to swapping, where packs may be exchanged several times a day.