Gotion takes 25% stake in European battery maker Inobat
Chinese battery maker Gotion High-Tech has acquired a 25% strategic stake in InoBat AS in Slovakia.
Gotion and Inobat have been talking for a year about the deal they call Gotion-InoBat-Batteries (GIB). This is the first major investment by a top tier Chinese global battery maker in a European battery startup.
Inobat has a significant portfolio of IP Industrialisation and scale-up projects under development in Europe and has global ambitions for its IP franchising platform. Crunchbase lists Inobat as having raised just €15m which has resulted in the qualification of NMC battery cells and a number of agreements to build large battery plants.
The Gotion investment, currently undisclosed, will help to boost R&D and scale up production at plants in Slovakia and follows a deal in February to explore Joint Venture opportunities, including co-development of a gigafactory with cell and pack production capacity of 40 GWh. Inobat signed a deal in November to build a gigafactory in Serbia.
The initial focus for production is in central Europe and Morocco for the creation of green battery materials. Gotion in June signed a deal to invest $6.4bn in a 100GWh battery gigafactory in Morocco.
Gotion High-Tech, which is backed by Volkswagen China, says it has committed significant capital and technology support for Inobat, which has been looking to build several battery gigafactory plants to supply European customers.
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“It is my earnest desire that Gotion High-tech, alongside InoBat, extends the reach of its batteries worldwide,” said Li Zhen, founding Chairman and CEO of Gotion High-Tech. “Moreover, I hope that Gotion High-tech can foster collaborations not only with InoBat but also with other renowned enterprises in Europe and across the globe. Through our joint efforts, we aim to develop and manufacture batteries that will find their way into countless households in Europe. We strive to play a pivotal role in achieving the continent’s carbon neutrality goals by 2050.”
Marian Bocek, Co-founder and CEO of InoBat added, “We are thrilled about GIB. Our partnership with Gotion High Tech heralds a new era in significant value creation through collaborative win-win alliances, helping to close the gap between Asian battery leaders and the rest of the world. GIB will unlock the full potential of Europe and our neighbours in the EMEA region in delivering localised Net Zero closed loop circular battery value-chains for e-mobility as well as superior energy storage solutions. GIB will nurture and grow InoBat‘s strategic premise and ethos for customised bespoke R&D to deliver safe high performance batteries and green energy solutions.”
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Gotion High-tech was the first private enterprise in the power battery industry to enter the capital market in China, listing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in May 2015. It has strategic cooperation with Volkswagen, Tata Group, Vinfast and Jinko, among others.
InoBat is backed by a consortium of strategic investors including Rio Tinto, Amara Raja, Ideanomics, the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank, and it original sponsors the IPM Group, Avanea and Across. It also has R&D grant financing under the EU’s Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI), and additional support from the Slovak Government.
en.gotion.com.cn; www.inobat.eu
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