OXIS investment opens up Brazilian R&D centre
The investment from Aerotec, a Brazilian Private Equity fund with a focus on Aerospace and advanced manufacturin, is the first international venture for the company and paves the way for OXIS Energy to open a subsidiary in Brazil. The Brazilian team will be trained at OXIS Energy’s headquarters in Oxford in the UK, prior to creating a Research and Development Centre in Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais.
The subsidiary will initially focus on commercial expansion throughout Latin America for the aviation, defence and heavy electric vehicle markets worldwide. OXIS Energy will also explore the lithium deposits in Minas Gerais, and is currently evaluating the composition of the Li-S chemistry of the graphene products available in the state.
Founded in 2005, OXIS Energy develops a Lithium Sulfur (Li-S) battery chemistry, cells and systems with considerably higher energy density and lower weight than traditional lithium ion cells and do not use any rare earth metals. The ceramic eletrolyte is intrinsically safe.
Besides Aerotec’s GB £3.75 million investment, the company has also received funding from a Korean electronics company and a European battery materials company.
“This is a huge step forward for OXIS Energy in the development and the commercialisation of its Li-S battery systems technology. Brazil has a very high concentration of buses, of which a significant proportion are over 15 years old,” said Huw Hampson-Jones, CEO of OXIS Energy. “The transition to electric heavy vehicles will, to a great extent, eliminate the polluting effects of both the internal combustion engine and the toxic pollutants of current Lithium-Ion battery systems technology.”
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