Continental inaugurated its new state-of-the-art campus for its Technical Center India (TCI) in Bengaluru on Wednesday. The inauguration was done in the presence of Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, Minister of Electronics, Information Technology – Biotechnology, Science and Technology, Higher Education, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, Government of Karnataka. Continental claims that several industry dignitaries, senior representatives from the automotive OEM community, together with the global leadership team of Continental, graced the occasion.

TCI is a part of Continental’s Software and Central Technologies (SCT) organisation. It has an engineering workforce focused on multiple domains, covering advanced safety technologies, autonomous driving, connected mobility technologies and many other future mobility trends, the company states. Moreover, the centre actively engages with top engineering institutions in India for cutting-edge research and to build competencies in niche areas to fuel innovation.

The one million square feet campus that was inaugurated, is located at Electronic City Phase II in Bengaluru. An overall investment of around INR 10,000 million has been made in the TCI, which can accommodate over 6,500 employees and has 14 floors. According to Continental, the new campus will consolidate the rapidly growing engineering competencies and teams in India, catering to automotive R&D requirements for local and global markets.

Sharing more on the company’s investment in the automotive industry, Prashanth Doreswamy, President and CEO, Continental India, said, “Our focus is on how we shape the future of mobility. We spend about EUR 2.6 billion on automotive. Continental is betting big on India and has been investing in the country almost every single year.”

Doreswamy further mentioned that with the campus, there will be technology introductions, capacity expansions, R&D growth and greenfield projects. In fact, the campus brings together the broad range of Continental’s technology capabilities in a collaborative environment, designed to accommodate the needs of future work. Continental states that the campus houses hi-tech software, hardware, vehicle test facilities for R&D and a plethora of training centres, with each floor equipped with multiple collaboration areas. All of these contribute to enabling innovation.

“Continental is committed to India. We have made significant investments here in the last few years, including greenfield manufacturing plants and the expansion of production lines for vehicle electronics for passenger cars and two-wheelers,” Doreswamy said, “Our new R&D campus represents yet another milestone in our growth.”

With a platinum certification from India Green Building Council (IGBC), the campus is also rife with green lung spaces, renewable energy sources and rainwater harvesting. All of these contribute to the company’s sustainability ambitions. Continental further claims that with a strong workforce, TCI is one of the company’s largest and key R&D locations globally, catering to both global and local markets. Established in 2009, the centre has grown over the years, both in terms of people and competencies. TCI will extend its services to all five automotive business areas – autonomous mobility, architecture and networking, safety and motion, smart mobility and user experience.

“We have a lot of product developments housed in India,” Latha Chembrakalam, Head of Technical Center India, Continental Automotive, asserted, “A majority of our business is for global customers. We are also an application centre for Indian OEMs. Besides, we have partnered with a lot of universities. We have a dedicated university programme focusing on four different pillars – building a talent pool, continuous education, funded research and social obligation and branding. Our aspiration is to currently grow more and more in value.”

Further throwing light on the TCI vision, Chembrakalam averred, “Technology and its multiplier effect drive business transformations, competitive advantages and newer customer experiences. With the evolution of software-defined vehicles, there will be further growth of safety and convenience features, newer in-vehicle experiences and so on. TCI will continue to have a larger role to play in Continental’s efforts to define the future of mobility, and our engineers play a key role in placing India on the global automotive R&D map.”

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Recyclekaro, an e-waste and lithium-ion battery recycling firm, has been cleared for eligibility under the Incentive Scheme for Promotion of Critical Mineral Recycling. The scheme is administered by the Ministry of Mines under the National Critical Minerals Mission.

The company has committed an investment of approximately INR 3 billion to expand its operations. This brownfield expansion aims to increase total processing capacity to 50,000 metric tonnes.

Its targeted waste streams for mineral recovery include spent lithium-ion batteries, electronic circuit e-waste, rare earth magnets and spent catalytic converters.

The project is designed to increase the domestic recovery of lithium and rare earth elements, reducing reliance on mineral imports for the electric mobility and renewable energy sectors.

Recyclekaro plans to invest over INR 5 billion over the next five years into a research and development facility. This centre will focus on technologies for the recovery of rare earth and critical minerals. The objective of the expansion is to align with national resource security and circular economy targets.

Rajesh Gupta, Founder and Managing Director, Recyclekaro, said, “We are proud to have secured eligibility under the Government of India’s Critical Mineral Recycling Incentive Scheme and sincerely commend the Ministry of Mines for instituting a visionary and robust framework under the National Critical Minerals Mission. This marks a decisive step toward strengthening India’s energy security that relies on securing critical minerals domestically. This will support India’s net zero goals. Over the past 15 years, we have built world-class in-house technologies, conducted thousands of pilot-scale experiments, and are now investing over INR 5 billion next 5 years in our newly developed R&D facility. It is going to be amongst the biggest privately owned facilities in India dedicated to rare earth and critical mineral recovery. At Recyclekaro, we remain deeply committed to this national movement and invite researchers, innovators, and technology partners to collaborate in accelerating India’s clean energy and circular economy transition.”

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Kochi-headquartered deep-tech company RoshAi has raised INR 220 million in funding, which was led by IAN Alpha Fund, part of the IAN Group.

The capital is designated for product development, expansion of deployments and scaling operations across international industrial markets.

RoshAi develops autonomy solutions that can be retrofitted to existing heavy vehicles in sectors such as ports, mining and logistics. This approach allows operators to implement driverless operations without the requirement for new fleet investments.

The technology stack comprises three primary components:

Retrofit Hardware: Physical kits to enable autonomous control of conventional vehicles.

In-Vehicle Autonomy System: AI-powered software and sensors for navigation and obstacle detection.

Cloud-Based Fleet Management: A platform for remote monitoring and operational coordination.

The company reports that its systems have completed over 100,000 km of testing with no safety incidents.

The global industrial autonomous vehicle market is projected to reach USD 162.8 billion by 2030, up from USD 47.6 billion in 2024. RoshAi aims to capture this growth by targeting the United States, Australia and Southeast Asia. It currently collaborates with Tier 1 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and industrial operators on pilot projects.

Sarika Saxena, Managing Partner, IAN Alpha Fund, said, “RoshAi is solving industrial autonomy through a retrofit-first approach, enabling operators to upgrade existing fleets rather than invest in new infrastructure. With strong early validation, repeat customer engagement, and a scalable autonomy platform, the company is well-positioned to build a globally relevant deep-tech business from India.”

Roshy John, Founder & CEO, RoshAi, added, “Our focus is to make industrial operations safer and more efficient by enabling existing fleets to operate autonomously. This investment allows us to accelerate product development, scale deployments across global markets, and continue building a robust autonomy platform for industrial use cases. We are glad to have IAN’s support as we move into this next phase.”

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Yuma Energy, a battery-as-a-service (BaaS) and infrastructure provider, has partnered with Quantum Energy, an Indian electric two-wheeler manufacturer. The collaboration enables battery swapping compatibility for the Quantum Bziness, an electric scooter designed for commercial and last-mile mobility applications.

The partnership aims to address vehicle downtime by integrating Quantum’s vehicle engineering with Yuma’s energy network. Yuma Energy reports a network uptime of 99.9 percent, allowing users to exchange depleted batteries for charged units.

The collaboration will focus on fleet operators, businesses and independent commercial riders. The aim is to maximise vehicle uptime by removing the requirement for stationary charging.

The collaboration is intended to lower operational costs and environmental impact for commercial EV users. By providing a scalable energy infrastructure, the companies seek to remove barriers to adoption in the high-utilisation transport segment.

Muthu Subramanian, MD & GM, Yuma Energy, said, "Electric mobility must work for the people who depend on their vehicles every day. Our partnership with Quantum Energy ensures that riders using the Quantum Bziness can operate without interruptions. By making battery swapping as fast and simple as refuelling, we are enabling productivity, improving earnings potential, and accelerating India’s transition to sustainable mobility."

Chakravarthi C, Managing Director, Quantum Energy, added, "At Quantum Energy, we design and manufacture vehicles that solve real mobility challenges. Integrating Yuma’s battery swapping solution with the Quantum Bziness enhances convenience and operational efficiency for commercial users, reinforcing our commitment to delivering practical and scalable EV solutions."

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The BMW Group has entered into a cooperation with Croatia’s Rimac Technology to equip the new all‑electric BMW i7 with advanced battery systems. This collaboration focuses on integrating BMW’s in‑house developed Gen6 technology into the flagship electric sedan, aiming to deliver superior range and faster charging capabilities.

At the heart of this project is the Gen6 lithium‑ion cylindrical cell, specifically the 4695 format, which offers a 20 percent higher volumetric energy density than the prismatic cells used in the previous Gen5 system. By combining the Gen6 cell technology with the established Gen5 module design, the high‑voltage battery enables a significantly increased driving range for the BMW i7. Additionally, the new setup boosts charging capacity and cuts charging time, greatly benefiting customers. The world premiere of this model is scheduled for 22 April at Auto China 2026 in Beijing.

Rimac Technology, a Tier 1 supplier within the Rimac Group, produces these high‑voltage batteries using state‑of‑the‑art equipment at its Croatian facility. The batteries are then delivered ready for assembly to the BMW Group Plant Dingolfing, the sole production site for the BMW 7 Series. Known for its in‑house development of battery systems, e‑axles, electronics and software, Rimac offers highly customisable electrification solutions. This long‑term partnership with BMW marks Rimac’s evolution from a niche supercar supplier to a Tier 1 provider for high‑volume vehicle projects.

Dr Thomas Engelhardt, Senior VP Development High-Voltage Storage and Charging, BMW Group, said, "We are quickly rolling out the technologies of the Neue Klasse across our entire model portfolio – including, of course, in our all-electric luxury sedan. The teams of both companies have developed a tailor-made solution for the new BMW i7. The excellent collaboration with Rimac Technology is a good example of European innovative strength."

Mate Rimac, Founder and President, Rimac Group, CEO and CTO Bugatti Rimac, said, “BMW has always been known for pushing engineering to the highest level, which made this collaboration especially exciting for us. Together, we developed a high-voltage battery system that unlocks the full potential of the new cylindrical cells in record time, delivering significant improvements in energy, range and charging performance. We are proud to now see this system being produced at scale at our new Rimac Campus.”

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