Prime Batteries Technology and EIT InnoEnergy to Scale up Battery and Storage Production in Europe

Romania’s Prime Batteries Technology has signed an investment agreement with EIT InnoEnergy, the innovation engine for sustainable energy supported by the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.

• Prime Batteries Technology produces state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries and tailor-made battery systems for the automotive, smart grids, and industrial sectors.
• The company possess unique expertise on integrated battery production that includes cells manufacturing, modules and packs building, as well as constructing and operating grid scale Energy Stationary Storage (ESS) units.
• The investment formalises EIT InnoEnergy as a shareholder in Prime Batteries Technology that will support the company in achieving its ambition to scale up annual production output to 8GWh, attracting and accessing talent, and paving the way for it to become one of the success stories of the European battery value chain.

 

Long-standing experience

Prime Batteries Technology has long-standing experience in producing battery and tailor-made storage solutions across a range of industries including automotive, marine, industrial, and material handling, and energy storage. The company’s in-depth understanding of customer needs married with its broad coverage of value chain solutions has seen successful partnerships with large DSOs, EPCs, and renewable energy producers from the United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, Spain, Italy, Poland, Croatia, Slovenia, and Turkey.

Prime Batteries Technology was established in 2016 and manufactures produces state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries and tailor-made battery systems for the automotive, smart grids, and industrial sectors at its plant in Cernica, near Bucharest.

 

Rapidly growing battery market

With the value of the global battery market due to double in the next four years as demand grows rapidly for lithium-ion batteries – and in Europe, this demand outstrips production – dynamic growth and strengthening of the continent’s supply chain is vital. It is on its way to become the second-largest battery producer after China by 2025 and this investment is an example of expertise and resource collaboration to enable rapid capacity scaling of key players in the market.

 

EIT InnoEnergy expertise

EIT InnoEnergy, which Pitchbook ranks as the most active sustainable energy investor globally, is the driving force behind the European Battery Alliance (EBA) and is recognised as a major early investor in other successful battery gigafactory ventures. These range from Swedish Northvolt (recently closed USD 2,75 bn financing round), to French Verkor (closed EUR 250 m founding round and secured a strategic partnership with Renault).

“We are delivering advanced storage solutions to various international customers, and we’ve already secured majority of the orders for 2023 and 2024. The quality and performance of our products are confirmed by a fact that over 80 per cent of our sales goes to returning customers. Due to growing demand, we need to increase our production capacity. Our ambition is to scale up our yearly production output to 2GWh by 2024 and to 8 GWh by 2026. We will do this by further developing our smart factory that at the same time enables us to make batteries at a significantly lower cost,” says Vicentiu Ciobanu, chief executive officer at Prime Batteries Technology.

“Active investment in the electrification of Europe is key to the continent’s energy security, and to fast track the transition towards sustainability. We are committed to find the best technologies and to support the most promising companies to help them grow and make real impact on an ever-larger scale,” says Diego Pavia, CEO of EIT InnoEnergy.

 

Spearheading the way to a decarbonised Europe by 2050

EIT InnoEnergy is spearheading the way to a decarbonised Europe by 2050 through the leadership of three industrial alliances: battery storage, green hydrogen, and solar photovoltaics. These alliances bring together the knowledge and experience required to support large industrial projects, which directly impact the energy trilemma: reducing the cost of energy, limiting greenhouse emissions, and increasing availability and security.

Established in 2010 and supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), EIT InnoEnergy has offices and hubs across Europe and in Boston, US.