Que: Kindly tell Energetica India readers in brief about Lord’s Mark Industries’ LED, Solar, Lithium-Ion battery, and Electric Vehicles (EV) divisions? When was the turning point for the company?

Ans: Lord’s Mark Industries is a 23-year-old tech-focused and innovation-driven company which has seamlessly transitioned from a trader to converter to a full-time manufacturer. We are continually engaging in R&D to drive process innovation and advanced manufacturing processes to boost our product outcomes. Lord’s Mark Industries has believed in leveraging advanced technology tools and solutions to deliver niche and cost-effective products in the energy space. The mission statement of Lord’s is to promote environment-friendly products and play a pivotal role in helping communities transition to sustainable, clean energy and reduce carbon footprint.

Lord’s is one of the early entrants in the solar street lighting space in India and specializes in developing LED products that are used in solar street lighting and home lighting systems. Lords have developed its in-house IoT-based technology for general street lighting and solar lighting.

The turning point for the company came when it was awarded a contract for lighting up INS Vikramaditya. Lord’s manufactures LED bulbs, tube lights and other LED-based luminary products under the ‘PAVAK’ brand which is supplied to various government agencies.

Venturing into the green energy space, Lord’s has undertaken extensive research on eco-friendly energy systems. With Electric Vehicles (EVs) emerging as a viable alternative to create a sustainable transport system, Lord’s initiated research on EV charging stations with a German company in 2018. The company has developed a fast and slow EV charging station which is going to be launched in 2022. Lord’s Mark has set up a startup Lords Automotive Pvt Ltd with a facility in Silvassa to manufacture electric Scooters and electric Rickshaws in many variants. Lord’s Marks owns Lords ZOOM brand of India’s premium electric two-wheelers which are sold through a Pan-India dealer network. We are currently working on technology that would facilitate the conversion of existing fuel bikes to Hybrid models and is going to be launched in 2022.

Que: Shed some light on your manufacturing facility, its production capacity, current customer base, etc? What are your future expansion plans?

Ans: We have manufacturing facilities for LED lights across multiple locations in India. Our EV charging station and e-vehicle manufacturing unit have been located at Silvassa. All the units are ISO certified and operated by automated equipment by harnessing the power of AI to deliver state-of-the-art output.

Lord’s has initiated talks with a joint venture (JV) partner to set up an EV charging station manufacturing unit which will have advanced manufacturing facilities and will comply with the best global standards. We intend to set up one of the biggest EV charging station manufacturing units in the country which would be an Export Oriented Unit (EOU).

With an LED lamp production capacity of more than 20 million per year, we supply LED lamps to various government agencies under different government schemes. The production capacity of electric scooters and electric rickshaws is pegged at 60,000 units per year and 7,000 units per year respectively. We have the capacity to manufacture 5,000 units of EV charging stations per year.

Que: On which major government projects have you worked on so far? How was your experience while working on such projects?

Ans: State nodal agencies are responsible for implementing various Solar schemes in the state. Solar street lights, Solar Home Lighting Systems, Solar power plants, etc. We work with all these nodal agencies in the completion of such projects and implement various central government schemes to promote clean energy. We at Lords are committed to upgrade the lifestyle of Rural areas and ensure to update these villages with modern technology. The government provides these schemes free to villages which are set up by us and maintained by us for the long term.

The most challenging experience we had, was working in Arunachal Pradesh on account of hilly areas, difficult terrain and weak mode of transport. Still, we managed to complete the project and deliver it with 100 percent success within the stipulated timeline. We have worked in 16 states across India with main exposure to rural areas.

Que: With the government’s recent push for Make in India, what kind of opportunities are you looking for, as an OEM player? Name a few of your partners in the EV space.

Ans: We support the Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant) India initiative of the government which promotes localized manufacturing and emphasizes on building robust indigenous supply chains. Various liquidity schemes by the government have boosted the performance competencies of MSMEs and have helped other companies to set up units to support the component industry. We have been active in trying to procure raw materials and spare parts from local vendors. Lords Automotive has its partner in the EV space. We are also working with Neets electrical as our partner in the EV space to create more customer-friendly products.

Que: Who will be your target customers/market for E-Scooters?

Ans: We are going to concentrate on developing a robust Pan-India Dealers Network. We will also be focusing on engaging with Municipal Corporations, the Ministry of Rural Development and Police departments to market our products and build a customer base.

Que: Do you think the prices of electric vehicles are still a dent in boosting the wide adoption of EVs? In your view, how EVs’ costs can be reduced?

Ans: Electric vehicle prices are still a dent in boosting the adoption of EVs. The market cost of an EV is heavily influenced by components like batteries which are imported. The cost of EVs can be reduced only when we have localized manufacturing of batteries.

Que: In your view, what are the biggest challenges in the power sector currently? And what will be their possible solutions?

Ans: Constrained liquidity position of electricity distribution companies in India is one of the biggest challenges in the power sector. There is an urgent need to reconsider government policies for power generation and distribution. The government also needs to set up more solar power plants and create a well-planned roadmap for its expansive outreach. A minimum power generation rate slab also needs to be fixed.