Investment continues to pour into the Battery Industry as batteries provide the vital storage tool for electric vehicles and renewable energy. This is demonstrated by Britishvolt’s unicorn status achieving more than a $1bn valuation in its latest funding round. Britishvolt is planning to build the UK’s first battery Gigafactory in Northumberland to manufacture thousands of batteries for electric vehicles. This follows hot on the heels of battery start-up Northvolt raising $2.75bn from investors in June 2021 to build its Gigafactory in Sweden. Northvolt’s value with the most recent loans is reported to have risen to just under $12 billion.
In light of these developments, DirectorsTalk caught up with Kevin Brundish CEO of AMTE Power plc (LON:AMTE) to ask where his company is, in relation to a number of recent announcements associated with Gigafactories, and whether he can compete with them financially and for customers….
Kevin Brundish, told us, “We have seen a number of exciting announcements over the past few weeks, focused on large Gigafactories (9GWh and above) in the UK, all of which highlight the momentum the UK is gaining in this space. Our view is that, in the main, this growth is focused on addressing the high demand in mainstream automotive. The switch to Electric Vehicles by 2030 is the same for all car makers but their needs are very different. So, the answer to your question is that we don’t compete directly with much of this mainstream expansion we are seeing.
The power, performance and endurance needs of high performance cars, for example, are very different from a family saloon. We are making batteries that will deliver the acceleration needed for a high performance car which is a more premium market which is why our Gigafactory will be initially focused on 2GWH per annum. We are happy to be zeroing in on the premium, but nonetheless substantial, specialist markets which are not the focus of the larger players and will be transformational for our business from where we are now.
That said, the UK government has suggested that up to 8 Gigafactories (of 15GWhs) will be required to meet the demand in the UK automotive market alone. So this is still an underserved market and our expansion plans are not limited to 2GWhs, and we have plans for 10GWhs and beyond if the demand exists.
I think the main takeaway for outsiders looking into the battery market is that the future demand is going to be substantial and in AMTE’s case we are focused on the premium end of specialist markets which have the potential to generate exceptional returns for our shareholders.”
AMTE Power plc (LON:AMTE), is a recognised brand in the production of high-quality lithium-ion batteries across a range of markets including automotive, aerospace, defence, oil & gas and energy storage.
The business has traditionally supplied both lithium cobalt oxide and lithium manganese oxide cells which can endure in the toughest environments and meet exacting standards.
