Dutch solid-state battery start-up Lionvolt has taken over Scottish counterpart Amte Power, which went into administration in December. Amte had battled financial difficulties for much of last year.
Amte’s first CEO, Kevin Brundish, is now CEO of Lionvolt. He downplayed the link, saying the acquisition was about the future of Lionvolt. Financial details of the acquisition have not been disclosed.
Netherlands-based Lionvolt said acquisition of Amte Power’s battery production site in Scotland adds complementary capabilities.
Brundish told BEST that the Dutch Eindhoven region has extensive experience in thin film technology. His company is drawing on that to develop a 3D electrode. Companies in the Eindhoven region include ASML and Philips.
“We are doing innovation there and building a pilot line to scale up that innovation,” he said. “We have less experience in the Netherlands as a cell manufacturing site.” He said the Dutch site is very strong on electrodes and the combination with a facility and a team in Thurso is a good one. “That’s how we see it moving forward.”
The Amte site in Thurso, Scotland, will be repurposed to manufacture cells based on Lionvolt’s technology. Brundish said the Lionvolt 3D electrode will be chemistry agnostic.
Amte had been making limited scale lithium-ion and sodium-ion battery cells for the EV industry and energy storage sector. It was planning a gigafactory in Dundee, Scotland. Brundish would not be drawn on whether Amte’s plans for that will be continued, adding they are different companies at different levels of maturity.
Lionvolt takes on an experienced production staff of some 20 people in Thurso, he added. The company is building a pilot production line at the Dutch business park Brainport Industries Campus (BIC) to further develop and commercialise its 3D electrodes.
Lionvolt was founded in 2020 and aims to develop and scale 3D solid-state batteries. According to its website, it plans to start establishing a scalable gigafactory within the next five years and to become a key player in the global battery industry.
Brundish became Lionvolt’s CEO last September and was a non-executive director of Amte Power since October 2022. He founded Amte Power in June 2014 and was its first CEO.
