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InMotion Ventures, the investment arm of JLR (Jaguar Land Rover) has announced a $1.2M USD investment in Energy Source – an early-stage Brazilian startup offering solutions for the repair, reuse and recycling of lithium batteries.
This is InMotion Ventures’ first investment in Brazil as the team looks to capitalise on the growth of the country’s burgeoning startup ecosystem and broaden its focus beyond the UK and US.
The capital will be used to accelerate Energy Source’s growth and expand operations, enabling them to continue catering to global clients in the future, such as JLR, from their 4,500 m2 industrial plant in São João da Boa Vista.
With a unique offering that spans the full stack of post-production services, Energy Source is addressing one of the challenges facing OEMs: end of life battery management and lifecycle optimisation. Their local repair offering prolongs the lifespan of existing batteries, negating the need for OEMs to replace a component that can be worth up to 70% of the EV sale price.
The company’s second life storage systems allow OEMs to explore new revenue streams and energy reduction opportunities, such as battery powered-renewable charging stations at retailers, and their battery recycling operations enable manufacturers to reclaim high value materials from spent cells, increasing circularity, and reducing the need for new mining activities.
InMotion Ventures invests in market leading startups with the potential to accelerate the transformation of JLR, and early investments in new regions such as LATM unlock valuable co-development and learning opportunities for impact far beyond local markets.
New Services and Open Innovation Director, JLR, Igor Murakami, said : “Repairing, repurposing and recycling lithium batteries is critical for JLR’s Reimagine strategy, which is why this is an important first investment for us in Brazil. Equity ownership in Energy Source puts JLR on the path to developing an end-to-end EV ecosystem. David, Noronha and the team are building one of Latin America’s most promising climate-tech startups and we’re excited to be involved at such an early stage.”
CEO and founder of Energy Source, David Noronha, said: “My vision is to drive substantial progress in meeting the challenges of fleet electrification and advancing the electronics industry. In this pursuit, forging a partnership with JLR and InMotion Ventures is not just a choice but the ideal pathway for realising our ambitions. Together, we will harness collective expertise and resources, paving the way for the next significant step in our journey towards impactful solutions.”
