BATTERY energy storage systems (BESS) capture electricity when it’s cheaper and more abundant, then release it when demand peaks or renewable generation falls short. These battery banks smooth the gap between supply and demand. Utilities use BESS to stabilize power grids and reduce reliance on fossil fuel plants, making solar and wind energy far more dependable.
The Philippines leads Southeast Asia in grid-scale storage. The Department of Energy now requires new renewable energy plants with capacities above 10 megawatts to include battery storage facilities equal to at least 20 percent of plant capacity. MTerra Solar’s first 450-megawatt-hour tranche is the country’s largest operating BESS project, while ACEN plans a 2-gigawatt-hour plant within its Zambales solar park.
Motolite Energy Solutions (MES) was established by the Ramcar Group in mid-2026 as its energy storage venture. It offers customized BESS solutions for commercial, industrial and residential customers. MES recently soft-launched its solar-plus-storage service for homeowners and businesses in Metro Manila.
MES Chief Executive Officer Peter Rankl disclosed that the goal of Motolite’s new venture is to help Filipino families become energy-independent and for local businesses to be efficient and sufficient in energy over the long term. “It’s green, and it’s much cheaper than relying on the state grid,” he said.
Before joining the Ramcar Group, Rankl held senior leadership positions in the Continental AG Group of Germany and its automotive division spin-off called Aumovio. He was previously the president of Aumovio Asean and general manager of Aumovio Philippines while concurrently serving as a board member of the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Rankl brings 32 years of international automotive and technology experience to the Ramcar Group due to his earlier executive assignments across Europe and Asia. His mandate as CEO of MES focuses on BESS and solar solutions, while as general manager of Ramcar Technology Inc. (RTI), he is tasked with the subsidiary’s expansion into clean energy technologies. “This marks an exciting new chapter in my career, from helping shape the future of mobility to helping build the future of energy,” Rankl shared.
Diversifying
a century-old firm
Founded by businessman Ramon Caro in 1919, Ramcar was originally an automotive electrical shop in Manila servicing the electrical systems of motor vehicles. In 1938, the company expanded into automobile repair and vehicle body-building operations. It ventured into automotive battery manufacturing in 1949 when it introduced its Oriental Battery brand.
In 1997, Ramcar acquired C.C. Unson Co. Inc., which manufactured the competing Motolite Battery brand. The two firms merged to form Oriental and Motolite Marketing Corp. (OMMC). Headed by Caro’s son-in-law Manuel Agustines, the combined company’s merger was described as a means of consolidating the capabilities and expanding manufacturing investments of Ramcar and C.C. Unson.
This makes Ramcar’s century-long evolution an interesting corporate history: from a small automotive electric shop to one of Southeast Asia’s major battery manufacturing groups. It has continued to evolve with the establishment of the Santa Maria Industrial Park (SMIP) in Bulacan, also known as the Ramcar Industrial Park.
SMIP is an 18-hectare special economic zone that serves as a manufacturing and industrial hub in Central Luzon. It houses the integrated manufacturing plants of the Ramcar Group, including RTI and Philippine Batteries Inc. (PBI), alongside PBI’s dedicated green recycling affiliate, Evergreen Environmental Resources Inc. (EERI).
PBI is the Ramcar Group’s manufacturing arm that produces Motolite and Oriental batteries. Its eco-processing infrastructure consists of a fully-integrated, closed-loop manufacturing and recycling ecosystem that relies on the state-of-the-art EERI smelting plant — a world-class facility that recycles up to 10 million used batteries annually, reprocessing approximately 45,000 metric tons of waste with a 99-percent component recovery that prevents toxic scrap from reaching public landfills.
To make the recycling loop even cleaner, PBI has lined the rooftops and parking structures of its SMIP facilities with thousands of kilowatt-peak of solar photovoltaic installations. The EERI recycling factory alone uses massive roof-mounted solar panels to directly offset its grid electricity consumption and significantly lower the carbon footprint of the battery manufacturing cycle.
While the actual production and heavy logistics are run from the special ecozone in Bulacan, the conglomerate’s main executive and administrative head office is located at the Ramcar Center in Quezon City. This compound includes the offices of OMMC and MES as well as the corporate headquarters of the Agustines family-owned Quick Service Restaurants Corp., the master franchise holder in the Philippines for KFC, Mister Donut and Tokyo Tokyo food chains.
According to Rankl, dealing with a company that has existed for more than 100 years means longevity in a business that will be around in the next decades or even centuries. “With Ramcar, whenever you need us, just call us, and we will be here,” he assured.
The author is The Manila Times Sustainability Magazine’s executive editor. He is a member of the Finex Foundation’s Environment Committee and its Sustainability Handbook’s Editorial Board.
