Energy storage solutions provider Verkor has announced that it has received undisclosed equity investments from US industrial battery manufacturer EnerSys and Dutch banking and financial services firm ING Group as part of its efforts to expand production in Europe.
ING Group is investing through its Sustainable Investment fund and previously participated in a €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion) financing package for Verkor's Dunkirk Gigafactory, which is set to bolster the company's manufacturing capabilities.
EnerSys is joining Verkor's shareholder base following a prototype agreement that allows Verkor to produce EnerSys' ENS1 lithium-ion battery cells. This partnership also involves the development of a new battery format at Verkor's innovation center in Grenoble.
Benoit Lemaignan, CEO of Verkor, commented on the new investments: “The arrival of ING Sustainable Investments and EnerSys in our capital confirms Verkor's attractiveness. As a company fully committed to the development of a sector and a player in a competitive, low-carbon industry, we are delighted to be able to count on the ongoing support of a broad ecosystem of public and private partners.”
Mark Weustink, Head of ING Sustainable Investments, remarked, “Our investment in Verkor, in combination with the financing offered by our lending colleagues, is a good example of how ING can support clients such as Verkor, to be able to lead in the energy transition. We want to support Verkor in its growth ambitions and with this we focus on the long term. ING as a group has very explicit and ambitious sustainability targets, in which we have our role. We want to make an important contribution to the decarbonisation of society and the economy, in which electric mobility will continue to play an important role.”
EnerSys President and CEO David M. Shaffer added: “EnerSys is accelerating the global clean energy transition by significantly expanding our production of lithium-ion batteries across a broad range of end markets and applications. With Verkor's expertise in lithium-ion electrode chemistry and high-performance products, they are the ideal manufacturing partner for us. We are pleased to have moved forward with our prototype agreement and made a strategic investment to support their growth.”
Founded in 2020, Verkor is developing its first Gigafactory in Dunkirk, France, which will supply batteries for electric vehicles (EV) and stationary storage across Europe, with an initial production capacity of 16 GWh per year.
