Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd (Sona Comstar), a global provider of automotive technology solutions, has signed an agreement to acquire a 54 percent equity stake in NOVELIC, a Serbia-based company founded in 2012 and a provider of mmWave radar sensors, perception solutions and full-stack embedded systems.

The equity stake will be acquired for €40.5 million through a combination of primary and secondary purchases with a staggered payment structure in the ratio of 60:20:20 at closing, 12 months and 24 months, respectively. Sona Comstar states that the transaction values NOVELIC at an enterprise value (EV) of €64.5 million on a pre-money basis and €75 million on a post-money basis, with an implied valuation multiple of 26 times CY22 Estimated PAT. The transaction is expected to close by the end of Q4 FY23 and is subject to customary closing conditions.

Sona Comstar claims that the acquisition is expected to be EPS accretive for it from the first year and offers strong growth opportunities over the medium term. The acquisition of NOVELIC is accretive to Sona Comstar's management bandwidth, given a shared cultural commitment to innovation, technology and profitability, states the automotive technology solutions provider.

In line with its strategic roadmap, Sona Comstar is foraying into the ADAS sensor market. With the acquisition, Sona Comstar states that it has started building its third business vertical of ADAS sensors and software to address the megatrends of increasing vehicle autonomy and automation.

According to Sona Comstar, NOVELIC's mmWave radar technology is the best solution for in-cabin sensing due to its high accuracy, lower cost and privacy protection of occupants' privacy. Through its sophisticated radar design and signal processing algorithm, NOVELIC's in-cabin monitoring solution detects life presence (LPD), child presence (CPD) and seat occupancy (SOD) amongst others. As per Sona Comstar, NOVELIC's in-cabin solution is highly accurate as it works under all light conditions, detects vital signs (heart rate and respiration) and locates objects anywhere in the cabin. NOVELIC's mmWave radar-based solution removes the need for weight sensors and associated wiring harnesses, resulting in significant cost savings for carmakers. Unlike cameras, mmWave radar-based in-cabin sensing protects the privacy of occupants in the car, claims Sona Comstar.

The current NOVELIC team, led by its founders Darko Tasovac, Veljko Mihaljovic and Dr Veselin Brankovic, will continue to lead the operations, ensuring continuity while leveraging Sona Comstar's scale and customer access for business development. According to Sona Comstar, the founders will hold 46 percent equity in NOVELIC after the completion of the transaction. 

Commenting on the acquisition, Vivek Vikram Singh, Managing Director and Group CEO of Sona Comstar, said, “I am excited to welcome NOVELIC to the Sona Comstar family. With this acquisition, we have added market leading, in-cabin radar-sensing technology to our technology offering. Increasing vehicle autonomy and automation is an emerging technology revolution in our industry. As we had done with EVs in 2016, we are taking a meaningful early step in the direction of the electrified autonomous vehicles or e-AV. NOVELIC adds the hardware and software capabilities to design integrated systems for autonomous driving, including AI and ML as well as ASIC experience, to what we already have in mechanical, electric and electronic abilities. It is the beginning of building our third business vertical of sensors and software. In addition to its technology prowess, Novelic is unique in its approach to profitability and sustainable growth. In many ways, NOVELIC is like Sona in how we value money, technology and growth.”

Sharing his thoughts, Mihajlovic, Co-founder and CTO of NOVELIC, said, "NOVELIC was founded with a clear mission to develop end-to-end capabilities in mmWave radar technology and to commercialise it through various product lines. We started as a team of five, and today, we are over 160 people, among which 130 engineers and 10 PhDs developing product platforms at various European locations. We have managed to do it organically by providing value to our customers and generating and growing our revenue and profit year after year. For moving to the next phase of our growth, we are delighted to have a strategic partner in Sona Comstar which shares the same commitment to innovation and technology and will support us in scaling up our business. The moment we first interacted with the Sona Comstar team, we knew this was 'the one' because we had a great alignment of core values."

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Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, in collaboration with industry partners, have published a study in Nature Communications demonstrating that reconfigurable battery pack architectures can extend electric vehicle battery operational life by more than 20 percent under specific conditions.

In conventional electric vehicle battery packs, cells are wired in a fixed series configuration, meaning the weakest cell dictates the overall capacity, performance and lifespan of the entire pack. The architecture evaluated by the Chalmers engineering team uses integrated electronic switches and a centralised battery management system to monitor individual cells or cell groups. When a cell experiences accelerated degradation or reduced capacity, the system bypasses the degraded unit while electric current continues to flow through the remaining functional cells.

Albert Skegro, a PhD student at the Department of Electrical Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology, said, "They must all move at the pace of the slowest person and stop when that person stops, regardless of how much energy the others have left. With the architecture we have modelled, the battery can instead bypass the cell that is causing problems and continue using the remaining cells."

Changfu Zou, Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering at Chalmers, said, "Reconfiguration is not an on-or-off choice. It is a spectrum. Where a manufacturer chooses to position itself on that spectrum determines how much of the potential benefit can be realised."

In a representative modelling scenario featuring an 80 kWh battery pack driven 12,000 kilometres annually over an 18.8-year vehicle lifespan, the reconfigurable system deferred battery replacement by approximately 14 months. The researchers noted that the technology yields the highest performance gains in high-voltage vehicles, including 400-volt and 800-volt electric passenger cars and commercial trucks, where higher cell counts in series increase the statistical probability of individual cell variance.

A techno-economic analysis included in the study determined that implementing cell-level switching hardware increases initial pack production costs by approximately nine per cent based on prototype-scale volumes of 1,000 units. The researchers identified an economic break-even threshold at a 12 percent cost increase, noting that volume manufacturing would lower component costs and increase financial viability for fleet operators and private owners. While prototype applications such as Volvo Cars' SmartCell concept and experimental road vehicles exist, mass-production vehicles using reconfigurable battery packs are yet to enter the commercial market.

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Jakson Green Vehicles has selected Dassault Systèmes’ cloud-based 3DEXPERIENCE platform to manage the design and development of its electric vehicles.

The implementation establishes a collaborative engineering framework to maintain digital continuity across the product development lifecycle. By connecting internal teams and external suppliers, the platform automates workflows, standardises component libraries and manages engineering change requests during early-stage product design. Virtual twin capabilities allow the vehicle manufacturer to conduct virtual validation testing to resolve structural and systems design issues prior to physical manufacturing.

Deepak Thakur, CEO, Jakson Green Vehicles, said, "Using Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE Platform enables us to apply a collaborative approach and re-engineer our product lifecycle from the ground up. Through this transition from legacy environments to a unified digital thread, it enables strong R&D to achieve twin objectives; accelerated time-to-market and mitigated development costs. This partnership is helping us to transform the early-stage innovation and product design processes."

Deepak NG, Managing Director – India, Dassault Systèmes, said, "As India continues its dynamic growth trajectory, virtual twin technology serves as a powerful catalyst for sustainable innovation, empowering industries to rethink how they design, produce and operate."

The software adoption forms part of Jakson Green Vehicles' plan to build urban zero-emission mobility vehicles and infrastructure across India.

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UK-headquartered energy technology company Gelion has entered into a material transfer agreement with a top 15 global automotive original equipment manufacturer to assess its NES cathode platform for future electric vehicle battery applications.

Under the terms of the agreement, Gelion will supply its sulfur-based cathode active material, coated cathodes and liquid electrolyte to the automotive partner. The manufacturer will evaluate the platform in both liquid and solid electrolyte cell configurations, testing compatibility across lithium metal and graphitic anode pathways targeting luxury and mass-market vehicle applications. The technology is designed to serve as a drop-in cathode material capable of integration into existing battery manufacturing lines without re-tooling.

Matt Wood, Chief Executive Officer, Gelion, said, "Our priority markets are commercial & defence drones, EVs and devices. We are honoured to be working with these major global automotive OEMs, and today’s announcement marks further progress towards the adoption of our technology and the generation of commercial revenues via funded programmes and eventually license and royalty revenue in the global EV market, alongside some of the industry’s leading companies."

"The growing engagement from global EV manufacturers reinforces the potential and attractiveness of our NES™ technology. This momentum is also mirrored in our agreements and partnerships across drones and devices, while our work with Tier 1 materials suppliers is advancing the scale-up of our unique, patented battery materials," Wood added.

The agreement expands Gelion’s ongoing industry testing programs with automotive manufacturers, extending the assessment of its sulfur-based cathode platform across liquid and solid battery systems.

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Honda R&D, a subsidiary of Honda Motor Co., has developed underlying technology for a magnetic coupling wireless power transfer road system in partnership with Taisei Corporation and Taisei Rotec Corporation.

The system enables wireless in-motion charging for electric vehicles, including passenger cars and heavy commercial fleets. The partners plan to initiate demonstration testing on public roads starting in FY2027.

The technology integrates high-power-density receiver and transmitter units from Honda with a high-response direct current power supply system from Taisei and road-embedding construction techniques from Taisei Rotec. By supplying power to electric vehicles while in motion, dynamic wireless power transfer reduces the need for stationary charging infrastructure. The initial commercial focus targets logistics and transport operations, where continuous operation offers economic benefits.

The ground assembly embedded in the roadway combines the inverter and coil into a single unit designed to connect via direct current distribution. This design reduces component counts, simplifies wiring and supports installation into existing road surfaces through standard milling methods. The road pavement structures are engineered to withstand continuous traffic loads from vehicles weighing up to 20 tonnes (20,000kg).

Testing conducted at Taisei Group’s T-FIELD facility in Satte verified system stability and structural durability. Starting in late 2026, the companies will build a test roadway at T-FIELD Tamura to evaluate long-term durability under one million wheel-load cycles, measure power transfer efficiency at outputs up to 150 kW and analyse electromagnetic shielding.

The partnership will also join the Tateyama Expressway demonstration project managed by East Nippon Expressway Company starting in 2027.

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