Echion raises £29m for niobium battery tech
Echion Technologies in the UK has detailed the value of its recent fundraising at £29m (€35m, $37m) for its niobium-based, fast-charging battery material.
The funding will enable Echion to scale up production of its XNO niobium battery anode material for real world applications in volume.
The Series B funding round was led by specialist battery and energy storage technology investor Volta Energy Technologies with participation from existing investors CBMM, BGF, and Cambridge Enterprise Ventures.
Echion is Volta’s first investment into a European headquartered company and having Volta as the lead Series B investor highlights Echion as a rising British battery technology business. The investment was first made public in September 2023.
The XNO anode material uses a proprietary mixed niobium oxide compositions and microparticle designs protected by 13 international patent families. This enables lithium-ion batteries to charge safely in under ten minutes, maintain high energy densities even at low temperatures, and deliver high power across a cycle life of more than 10,000 cycles.
“We are excited to lead Echion’s Series B and make Volta’s first investment in Europe,” said Dr Jeff Chamberlain, CEO and Founder of Volta. “Echion and their XNO technology complements our growing portfolio of technologies that address significant market needs through innovations in the supply chains of battery and energy storage technology. We believe the power of XNO can uniquely improve performance, lower cost, and meet the demands of the growing, international markets across mining, logistics, railways, automotive and more.”
£27m for next generation solid state silicon battery materials and recycling
CBMM is the world’ s leading supplier of niobium and is opening of a plant for XNO production with a capacity of 2,000 tonnes per year later this year. This provides Echion with the manufacturing capacity for its global customer base of major cell manufacturers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
“Our ambition is to deliver the best fast-charging batteries to unlock the electrification of heavy-duty vehicles. The investment from our partners Volta Energy Technologies, CBMM, BGF and Cambridge Enterprise Ventures cements our ambition to achieve full-scale commercialisation and full production volume,” said Jean de La Verpilliere, CEO of Echion Technologies.
“The entire Echion team has worked tirelessly to develop our flagship XNO material into what it is today and this has enabled us to establish partnerships with many major OEMs and cell manufacturers which have recognised the benefits of our materials. I look forward to being able to satisfy their demand for innovative niobium-based anode materials, and to see industrial and commercial applications powered by XNO.”
“Having invested in Echion since 2021, we are pleased to see the progress that has been made through our partnership so far and we are proud to support bringing this ground-breaking, niobium-based technology to the market with our 2,000 tonne per year manufacturing capacity,” said Rodrigo Barjas Amado, Managing Partner and Commercial Head of Battery Program at CBMM.
Applications powered by XNO include battery electric and hybrid trains, mining haul trucks, opportunity-charging e-buses, heavy-duty industrial transport and delivery vehicles.
If you enjoyed this article, you will like the following ones: don't miss them by subscribing to :
