Three battery companies have chosen France for international business expansion: Skeleton Technologies, Nidec and Sunlight Group.
The news came as part of the Choose France 7th Summit which was held on 13 May at the Palais de Versailles in Paris. Business leaders met with president Emmanuel Macron and officials as part of the deal process.
Nidec of Japan is to open a new factory in the town of La Fouillouse (Saint-Etienne) for production of stationary battery storage systems, equipment for the integration of renewable energy in electricity networks, the electrification of ports and the charging of electric vehicles. Investment will total €17 million ($18 million).
Estonian supercapacitor company Skeleton Technologies has chosen France’s Occitanie region. It said it plans to invest €600 million ($651 million) within five years, starting with R&D activities in Toulouse in Q4 this year to develop next-generation battery technology.
The group said it plans to build a manufacturing facility in 2027 in the Occitanie region to produce its high-power “SuperBattery”. Skeleton currently has production in Saxony, Germany, and is planning a new supercapacitor manufacturing facility near Leipzig.
Laurent Saint-Martin, Managing Director of Business France, said the Skeleton project is “emblematic of the French strategy of reconquering a green and cutting-edge industry” and patient perseverance. It has supported the company for four years in convincing it to choose France, he said.
The SuperBattery is used in various sectors and applications, including grid energy storage, heavy-duty and utility vehicles electrification, data centres, rail, marine, automotive, space and aeronautics. Skeleton said its customers include Hitachi Energy, Siemens, Honda Performance Development, Skoda Electric, Shell, CAF and Martinrea.
Joining Skeleton in France was Lampros Bisalas of Greece’s Sunlight Group. Writing on LinkedIn, he said Sunlight was the only Greek company ever to be invited to the summit, where world leaders meet to discuss investments in France.
Bisalas said he joined a round table discussion with 10 CEOs, where he outlined his company’s investment plans to Macron and his ministers. It is expanding in energy storage and lithium-ion cell manufacturing, and has a sales and service business in France.
In its 2023 annual report, it said it allocated €124.4 million ($135 million) to capex investments, focused on expanding innovation and production capacities in lithium-ion technology as well as expanding production capabilities in lead-acid.
Photo: Skeleton’s CEO Taavi Madiberk said it plans to invest €600 million ($651 million) in France within five years. Skeleton
