Australian Joint Venture

RNS Number : 8299N

AMTE Power PLC

04 October 2021

 

 4 October 2021

AMTE POWER PLC

("AMTE Power" or the "Company")

Australian Energy Storage Joint Venture & Confirmation of Plans to Build and Fund a 200,000 cell micro production line in Australia's Lithium Valley

AMTE Power plc ("AMTE Power" or the "Company"), a developer and manufacturer of lithium-ion and sodium-ion battery cells for specialist markets, is pleased to announce a joint venture agreement with InfraNomics Technologies Pty Ltd ("InfraNomics") and advanced plans to build a 200,000 cell micro production line in Australia's Lithium Valley.

The 50:50 joint venture will operate through Bardan Cells Ltd ("Bardan") and be based in Kwinana, Western Australia. InfraNomics, which focuses on energy technologies and services, is responsible for capital  fund raising, providing local expertise, establishing local sovereign supply chains and supporting the development of Bardan. AMTE Power will provide Bardan with the licenced technology and manufacturing expertise to build cells for use in energy storage systems.

In 2018, AMTE and InfraNomics, recognised the commercial opportunity to become a leader in Australia's battery cell manufacturing sector and began a collaboration which has resulted in the formalisation of the joint venture being announced today. The joint venture marks the transition from feasibility study and detailed business plan to the construction of a micro production line. Bardan's objectives are:

·To ultimately build a Gigafactory to manufacture Lithium ion battery cells capable of producing between 1-2GWh per annum for use in energy storage systems in Australia

·The business will operate from the "Lithium Valley" Kwinana Industrial Area, a major industrial area and a centre for Lithium related products, raw materials and local technical expertise.

·As a forerunner to the Gigafactory, a 200,000 battery cell micro production line will be built, to refine the manufacturing processes from AMTE's Thurso plant, implement new technologies and develop local sovereign supply chains.

· Following a formal Expression of Interest process, the Kwinana Industrial Area south of Perth was identified as the preferred location for the micro factory and potentially the Gigafactory

·Bardan is proud to offer local and international customers robust, safe, premium performance products, developed using the most advanced manufacturing techniques available worldwide, for use in long term Net Zero Carbon power storage solutions.

Kevin Brundish, Chief Executive Officer of AMTE Power, said:

"The more our cells are in production, whether that be in the UK or Australia, all adds to the commercial appeal of our portfolio of cells. Bardan is attractive as a stand alone investment proposition for us, given the anticipated demand in Australia for energy storage solutions, but at the same time, Bardan is attractive as a further test platform for our technologies and will be particularly useful additional experience and proof to investors and customers of our capabilities as we pursue the development of our UK based Gigafactory. For Bardan, there is no doubt the combination of our licensed technology and knowledge of battery cell manufacturing at scale is an excellent fit with InfraNomics' capital raising capabilities, local market and supply chain knowledge. We believe Bardan can play a significant role in Australia's future cell production supply line."

Cameron Edwards, Director and Founder at InfraNomics commented,

"The relationship with AMTE provides Bardan and its customers the advanced technological expertise required to make world-class products suitable for extreme environments. The global transformation of energy is one of the largest growth markets in the world and we are delighted to be playing a role in reshoring manufacturing in the Australian energy sector and creating an essential piece in the critical raw materials value chain."

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014.

For further information contact:

AMTE Power plc Kevin Brundish (Chief Executive Officer) Adam Westcott (Chief Financial Officer)	Tel: [phone]
WH Ireland Limited (NOMAD and Joint Broker) Chris Fielding / Ben Good	Tel: [phone]
SI Capital Limited (Joint Broker) Nick Emerson / Nick Briers	Tel: [phone]
Novella Communications Tim Robertson / Fergus Young	Tel: [phone]

ABOUT AMTE POWER PLC

AMTE Power was founded in 2013 and is a leading developer and manufacturer of lithium-ion battery cells for specialist markets. In March 2021, the Company listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. The Company is focused on launching a series of next generation battery cells based on new chemistries and cell structures that are designed to solve key problems in power delivery, energy performance, and safety. These new products are targeted at a range of specialist markets including the automotive industry, oil and gas market and energy storage sector. AMTE's purpose-built cell manufacturing facility in Thurso, Scotland has the second largest cell manufacturing capacity in the UK and the Company also has a product development team based in Oxford. For further information visit the Company's website:  www.amtepower.com

 

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