Technology company Sunlight Group has received €275 million ($290 million) in the form of seven-year loans from Greek banks to increase its lithium-ion and lead-acid battery production and R&D.
The loans will aid Sunlight Group’s upgrades and expand production and assembly lines in its facilities in Xanthi (Greece), Verona, (Italy) and North Carolina (US).
The loans will contribute to the firm’s five-year business plan that includes developing European lithium-ion battery gigafactories and R&D into lithium-ion battery recycling.
Funds will also support its production of motive power lead-acid battery cells, with the installation of state-of-the-art automated production and assembly lines.
The company also aims to invest in further international growth, partly through M&As, as well as R&D into the company’s lithium products, via the “European Battery Innovation” (EuBatIn) project, an “Important Project of Common European Interest” co-funded by the EU that is already under implementation.
The €275 million loan agreements comprise a €125 million ($131 million) syndicated loan from Eurobank and Alpha Bank (€62.5 million each) and a €150m loan from the National Bank of Greece.
Lampros Bisalas, CEO of Sunlight Group, said: “We are heavily investing across our facilities in Greece, Europe and the US to increase our overall production capacity, as demand for lithium-ion batteries in particular continues to outstrip supply.
“These additional funds will give us the necessary support to address global challenges to lithium supply, as well as the continued R&D required to make lithium-ion batteries the most energy-efficient, cost effective, and viable green energy solution on the international market.”