Nexeon Receives 40 Million Euro Boost for Rechargeable Batteries
Nexeon announced that it has received an investment of €40 million for its rechargeable lithium-ion battery technology. The Series C investment was led by existing investor Imperial Innovations Group and included Invesco Perpetual; both organizations are existing investors.
Nexeon plans to use the new funding to establish a world class manufacturing facility, scaling up the production of its latest silicon anode materials to around 250 tons per annum, representing a commercial supply level. According to the company, use of silicon anodes in Li-ion batteries produces a significantly higher performance and overcomes the limitations of present-day technology. Batteries with higher energy density can offer longer time between charges, higher power output, smaller size or a combination of these benefits. The company says that the batteries are eagerly awaited for application in cell phones, laptops and many other consumer devices, as well as having important application in electric vehicles and in storage of renewable energy.
The latest funding brings the total raised by Nexeon to €55 million, and will allow the company further to accelerate application development and to increase support to its customers. The company says that the investment comes at an ideal time as strong progress is being made in commercial negotiations and customer-led projects.
The company recently announced that it had it produced sample cells with what are said to be significantly higher capacity for their size than the best current commercial equivalents. As Nexeon expands the scope of its activities it will be looking to create and fill a number of key commercial, technical and supply chain positions.
"This is the next step in an amazing journey for this exciting UK start up", says Nexeon Chairman Dr Paul Atherton, who founded the company back in 2005 with Professor Mino Green of Imperial College. "It’s a superb example of UK high value manufacturing involving sophisticated advanced materials, and this funding will enable Nexeon to establish the first in a series of manufacturing plants that will be needed to serve demand worldwide."
"We are naturally delighted at the support shown by our investors who see the potential of our silicon anode technology and the excellent progress being made by our team", said Dr Scott Brown, CEO of Nexeon. "With the strong financial backing of Innovations and Invesco Perpetual, we are well placed and very much on track to meet our customers’ needs and to achieve our commercial ambitions."
