Cambridge-based Echion Technologies develops next-generation materials for Lithium-Ion batteries. Now, the company announced that it has closed £10 million in a Series A funding round.
£10M investment round
The investment round was led by CBMM, the world’s leading supplier of niobium products and BGF, the UK & Ireland’s most active and dynamic investor of equity capital in growth economy companies. The other participants involved in the round include the University of Cambridge, Origin Capital and shareholders.
This financing round will allow Echion to scale up to multi-tonne level material production, demonstrating high-yield, cost effective manufacturability as well as to supply the growing demand for material for pre-production trials. The funds will also be used to strengthen customer support, commercial and R&D operations.
Richard Pugh, Investor at BGF, who joins the Board of Echion said: “Echion has huge potential to use its cutting-edge battery chemistry technology to accelerate the adoption of batteries in a range of applications. BGF is convinced that batteries will play a critical role in the energy transition, and identified that Echion’s technology brings significant benefits in key areas such as fast-charging or high-power applications.”
“This funding round will support an exceptional management team in completing the final push to commercial adoption, working in parallel with a range of very high quality stakeholders for instance recent joint projects with Johnson Matthey, and a number of other high profile international customers,” he added.
Rodrigo Amado, Head of Strategy and New Ventures at CBMM said: “This partnership is part of our global strategy to accelerate the time to market of our Battery Materials Business front and bring to market an innovative niobium applied technology that will truly transform the way the world moves. Together, CBMM and Echion will advance towards sustainable mobility by offering ultra-fast charging batteries that have greater stability and longer life. We are optimistic and believe that these new products will be available within the next year.”
Echion CEO Jean de La Verpilliere said: “We are tremendously excited to start the next stage in our journey to bring the Echion Mixed Niobium Oxide products to market. We have great synergies within our investor base, and will keep building a world-leading team to deliver exceptional performance to our customers. We look forward to creating value for our partners and contributing to making superfast charging batteries a reality.”
Chris Gibbs, Investment Manager at Cambridge Enterprise said: “Having supported Echion right from the start of its journey to commercialise its novel lithium-ion battery technology, Cambridge Enterprise is delighted to see it complete this significant funding round. Echion is now in a very strong position to deliver on the team’s robust commercial traction and make a significant impact in the industry.”
Contributes to decarbonisation
Founded by Jean de La Verpilliere and Alex Groombridge, its products deliver a unique combination of fast-charging capability, cost-effectiveness, and high energy density that are vital for the world’s shift towards decarbonisation through pervasive electrification.
Echion is keen to hear from other cell or battery material manufacturers who also wish to evaluate its products. Echion’s materials have been successfully evaluated by major battery cell and battery materials manufacturers around the world, who are now moving forward to larger scale trials.
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