Indian cleantech startup e-TRNL Energy raises Rs 27.4 crore in seed funding from IAN Group, others

Indian cleantech startup e-TRNL Energy has raised Rs 27.4 crore in a seed funding round led by IAN Group, an early-stage investment platform. The round saw participation from Navam Capital, Speciale Invest, and other investors.

Founded in 2021 by Apoorv Shaligram (Co-founder & CEO) and Dr. Uttam Kumar Sen (Co- founder & CTO), e-TRNL Energy is working on a fundamental battery cell technology that is chemistry agnostic and can adopt all present Li-ion and future Na-ion chemistries. The technology offers battery cells with higher energy density and lower heating compared to its peers, with better pricing economics.

The startup plans to use the raised capital to complete product development, validate performance and safety, and demonstrate manufacturing capability in India. It claims to have set up a 20,000 sq. ft. R&D and early manufacturing facility in Bengaluru to support testing and scale-up. It has been granted two patents for its battery cell design and has filed additional patent applications.

e-TRNL Energy plans to establish a 250 MWh pilot manufacturing facility by 2027, with the intention of expanding it to a 2 GWh capacity later. Its first battery product will use LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) chemistry, with plans to develop LMFP and Sodium-ion batteries in the future. The startup also plans to supply its cells to battery pack manufacturers serving electric mobility and energy storage markets.

Apoorv Shaligram, Co-founder & CEO, e-TRNL Energy, said, “Over the past three years, we've created a ground-breaking battery cell design and built precise machines and processes needed to realize it. With this funding round, we move towards demonstration, testing, and scaling our innovation for commercialization. Beyond positioning India as a leader in energy storage innovations, these efforts will also strengthen our resilience against global supply chain vulnerabilities in these changing times.”

Rajnish Kapur, Managing Partner, IAN Alpha Fund, said, “India’s energy transition will depend not just on adopting batteries, but on owning core cell design and manufacturing capabilities. What stood out with e-TRNL Energy was their first-principles rethink of cell architecture and manufacturing, rather than incremental upgrades to legacy designs. This integrated approach tackles performance, safety, heating, and cost together, which is exactly the kind of deep-tech innovation we back at IAN.”