Photo: PBT
EU-backed EIT InnoEnergy became a shareholder in Prime Batteries Technology from Romania, which intends to invest EUR 1 billion by 2026 to scale up its battery production.
Prime Batteries Technology or PBT produces lithium-ion batteries and provides energy storage solutions for the automotive, smart grids, and industrial sectors. The startup headquartered in Cernica near Bucharest has signed an investment agreement with EIT InnoEnergy with the aim to scale up its annual production output to 8 GWh from the current 200 MWh.
PBT aims to boost annual output to 2 GWh by 2024
EIT InnoEnergy, active in the European Battery Alliance (EBA) is backed by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union. The early-stage investor in battery producers including Northvolt and Verkor is now a shareholder in Prime Batteries Technology, with an undisclosed stake.
“We are delivering advanced storage solutions to various international customers, and we’ve already secured majority of the orders for 2023 and 2024,” Chief Executive Officer of PBT Vicentiu Ciobanu said and revealed that the output goal for 2024 is 2 GWh. The firm said it would obtain 30% to 35% of funds for the expansion from investment funds specialized in renewable energy and the rest through debt, Business Magazin reported.
Materials for batteries to be imported from China
PBT, founded in 2016, also counts on public funding including the programs run by Romania’s Ministry of Energy. The company plans to source commodities – mostly lithium, nickel, copper and aluminium – from China.
Of note, Slovakian firm InoBat has just announced that it is considering the possibility to build a battery gigafactory in neighboring Serbia, where another firm is already working on such a project.
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