Bulgarian lead-acid company Monbat has confirmed proposals for a major expansion of its manufacturing operations in the country to produce bipolar batteries under licence from US-based Advanced Battery Concepts (ABC).
Monbat’s licensing deal for ABC’s GreenSeal bipolar lead technology was announced earlier this year— but neither company would say where the batteries might be made.
However, BEST Battery Briefing has now confirmed Monbat has taken the first steps towards building a 2.4 gigawatt-hour plant in Vratsa, Bulgaria, especially for the production of bipolar batteries.
Monbat has filed a notice of intention to build with the office of Kalin Kamenov, Vratsa’s mayor, indicating the company would be prepared to invest BGN42 million (US$24.5m) in the project— which would straddle three sites already in Monbat’s ownership and initially create 150 jobs.
A Monbat spokesperson declined to comment further, telling BBB: “This is at a very early stage.” But the spokesperson said if the intention to invest gets the green light, Monbat would also seek funds from the European Union.
ABC has said previously that, in addition to Monbat, it was talking to other European companies about potential GreenSeal licensing arrangements. According to ABC, GreenSeal “drastically simplifies lead battery manufacturing and significantly improves lead battery performance by increasing cycle life, lowering weight, reducing recharge time, improving reliability and is fully recyclable”.
Monbat was founded in 1959, privatised in 1998 and is now a leading European battery producer. The company has production and recycling plants in three countries and exports worldwide. In mid-2018 Monbat reported consolidated net sales 28% higher than the previous year.