Swedish battery tech start-up accepts €47m: A loan is being provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB) in the amount of €47m to the Swedish company Nilar International for the research and development of its innovative battery technology.
Over the coming years, the loan will reinforce the upgrading and expansion of its manufacturing lines at its facility in Gävle in addition to boosting its research and development to demonstrate the commercial viability of its technology.
Nilar manufactures batteries with reserved renewable energy that can be used by homeowners & industrial customers to power their buildings or charge electric vehicles (EVs), from rooftop solar panels for instance.
The manufacturing process for the Hydride Battery Energy Storage systems can be readily and fully recycled & is said to be far less energy-intensive than current lithium-ion technologies.
“Nilar is fully integrated, from cell to system, including electronics and sophisticated control software and does not rely on the import of cells from Asia. Close co-operation with highly-skilled European academic researchers forms the basis for further rapid innovation.
“I would like to express my sincere thanks to the EIB and the European Commission for this unprecedented and critical support to Nilar as a high-growth European battery innovator start-up.” expressed Michael Obermayer, Chairman of the Board of Nilar.
The financing is funded by the Horizon 2020 budget – supported by the European Commission’s InnovFin Energy Demonstration Projects – and is anticipated to help the company to rapidly commercialise its battery production & achieve further cost cutback through scale.
“This InnovFin and Horizon 2020-supported project brings us one step closer to a sustainable energy system.
“Technologies that were just theory a few years ago are becoming our daily routine. Homeowners will be able to store excess renewable energy and use it later, for example, to power their electric vehicles. Research and innovation pays off and is definitely a critical element of our decarbonisation strategy.” as stated by Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth.
Swedish battery tech start-up accepts €47m