Germany’s TUV-SUD plans an electric vehicle battery lab at B’luru

Bengaluru: Germany-based certification, testing, auditing, inspection and training company TUV SUD, which will inaugurate its Bengaluru Campus spanning 3 acres on Thursday, to set up an electric vehicle battery lab in the second phase of the project.

Speaking to DH, ahead of the inauguration, Ishan Palit, the company’s chief operating officer and member of the board of management, shied away from sharing the investment the second phase will involve. With the lifespan of electric batteries becoming a concern, the unit, that will come up on 1.5 acres in the campus, will put them through vigorous tests, he elaborated. 

In the first phase, the company is investing €15 million, which includes a 70,000 sq feet integrated office, training centre and laboratory in KIADB Hitech Defence and Aerospace Park, Devanahalli. 

This is its second lab facility in Bengaluru after the Food Analytical and Chemical & Microbiology Lab in Peenya Industrial Estate, where the company has over 150 employees. The new lab will employ 200 people and will offer electrical safety, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), and medical device biocompatibility, toxicity and microbiology testing and certification services.

“I see huge potential for India in the medical devices sector where it can be a significant global player,” Palit said. Energy transition is the second big area for India, he added. 

Ishan Palit

The Indian market where the company has 39 offices and six labs, contributes €60 million (Rs 500 crores) in 2023 to the €3.2 billion company and is currently growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 14%. 

“With this investment, we expect the company to grow at a CAGR of 15% in 2024,” Palit said.  The company has testing facilities at Bengaluru, Ranipet (leather and footwear), Gurugram (toys and apparels), Mumbai (household chemicals), Tiruppur (apparel) and Visakhapatnam (spices & seafood).

The company has around 10,000 clients in India across key segments including food safety, medical devices, automobiles,  electrical and electronic safety and apparels and shoes.