MM Forgings makes strategic investment in Abhinava Rizel

One of the many products made by Abhinava Rizel. Source: company website

As part of its transformation strategy to become a leading player in the growing electric vehicle (EV) segment, MM Forgings (MMF) has made an investment to secure an 88 percent equity shareholding in Abhinava Rizel.

In a stock marlet filing, MMF will provide the necessary financing to establish the manufacturing facility and other product development initiatives. On an aggregate basis, MMF expects to invest Rs 200 crore in this initiative, the company said.

More importantly, MMF’s involvement will also provide significant technical and managerial expertise to accelerate Abhinava Rizel in its growth path. The founders of Abhinava Rizel, BVN Madhu, Karthik Donthula and Shivam Bhatia  have been jointly developing EV motor and powertrain technologies since 2017. The company was incorporated in May 2022.

Abhinava Rizel, a start up, has 8 patents filed and an additional 10 patents under filing in respect of EV motor and powertrain technologies. Its motors are based on proprietary hybrid topology radial flux architecture between SynRM (Synchronous Reluctance Motors) and PMSM (Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors). Together with this combined capability, and well-developed thermal management techniques, thermal efficiencies achieved are around 25 percent higher over conventional traction motors, the company said in a stockmarket filing.

This enables significantly reduced use of magnets, copper, aluminum, steel, etc., with zero compromises in performance.

Abhinava Rizel has also multiple patented innovations whose incorporation in design yields around 15 percent has improved overall drive cycle efficiency over conventional traction motors. The company is also in the process of developing gearboxes and controllers using Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Silicon Carbide (SiC) technologies to soon provide integrated (3-in-1) “Controller+Motor+Gearbox” solutions to their customers across all segments of automotive and off-highway spaces.

As per the filing, Abhinava Rizel will use the investment by MMF to establish its initial manufacturing facility in Oragadam, Tamil Nadu.

Vidyashankar Krishnan, VC and MD, MM Forgings said, “MMF is the supplier of choice for leading global automotive companies across the spectrum of vehicle configurations, especially in the passenger and commercial transportation segments. Given the growing presence of EVs across the overall automotive market, MMF is seeking attractive investment and partnering opportunities to pivot itself and become a significant industry participant in this emerging sector.”

According to BVN Madhu, Co-founder, Abhinava Rizel, “The current scenario is an opportunity for India to play a bigger role in the global EV transition. We believe in making India known for great engineering and technology by providing leading-edge EV Powertrain solutions across the world.”

Karthik Donathula, Co-founder, Abhinava Rizel, “At Abhinava Rizel, we are greatly focused on building products with an innovation-driven approach and a strong scalable product portfolio, which specially caters to the challenging Indian conditions.”