Morrow Batteries, a Norwegian battery manufacturer, secured €100 million (~$106 million) in a funding round. Siemens Financial Services and ABB led the round with Nysnø Climate Investments, Arendals Fossekompan, Danish pension fund PKA, NOAH, and Agder Energi Invest.
The company plans to use the new funds to build the first phase of its Gigafactory in Arendal, Norway, with a capacity to produce more than 1 GWh battery cells each year. The factory is expected to be powered entirely by using renewable energy and is expected to start operation by 2023.
When all phases of development are completed in 2028, the Gigafactory will have an annual production capacity of 43 GWh battery cells.
”This capital raise primarily finances equipment for the first factory. It will be the first battery cell production facility in Norway with a capacity to deliver to the commercial market, and we will manufacture the first battery before the end of 2023,” said Morrow CEO Terje Andersen.
”With our development program of more sustainable batteries, and the steep increase in global demand for batteries, we are perfectly positioned to deliver profitable and sustainable jobs that we need to make the Norwegian, European, and global economy greener,” he added.
“Once available, these batteries will become a key component in the production of our energy-efficient portfolio, which strives to make sustainable transport a reality,” said Edgar Keller, President of ABB’s Traction Division.
Earlier this week, Optivolt, a provider of solar technology that enables self-powered IoT devices, 5G infrastructure, military equipment, robotics, and EVs, has raised $8 million in a seed funding round. Including the latest round, Optivolt has raised $10.1 million to date. The company plans to use the funds to expand its operations and business reach. Atlas Innovate led the funding round with Social Impact Capital, Pure Ventures, City Light Capital, and Peter Relan, an initial investor in Discord.
According to Mercom’s Q1 2022 Funding and M&A Report for Storage, Grid & Efficiency, corporate funding (including debt and public market financing) into Battery Storage, Smart Grid, and Energy Efficiency sectors increased 177% in Q1 2022 compared to $4.8 billion in Q4 2021. Corporate funding increased 167% YoY compared to Q1 2021.
