Birmingham Post

£2.5m boost for battery firm to grow technology

- Tamlyn Jones

ABIRMINGHA­M battery technology firm has secured £2.5 million in new funding to support the developmen­t of its products.

Aceleron upcycles lithium battery technology in a way which enables easy repair and reuse over time and reduces cost and waste.

The lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles and for clean energy storage have a typical lifespan of no more than ten years and cannot be repaired or easily recycled.

Aceleron is aiming to change this by allowing individual cells to be removed and replaced, rather than having to dispose of the entire battery.

Its flagship product called ‘Essential’ is claimed to be the world’s first battery that is fully maintainab­le and designed to last a lifetime.

This fresh round of funding has come from existing investors BGF, the Midlands Engine Investment Fund’s Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund and Mercia’s EIS funds and brings the total raised by the company so far to £5.4 million.

It will enable Aceleron to build relationsh­ips with automotive manufactur­ers and other major corporatio­ns while continuing to enhance its products.

Aceleron was founded in 2016 by chemical engineer Amrit Chandan and battery engineer Carlton Cummins and was crowned New Business of the Year in 2017 at the Birmingham Post Business Awards.

It has now grown to 25 staff based at its office in Gas Street and said it was on course to double its revenue this year.

It offers products for both domestic and commercial applicatio­ns and sells to customers in Europe, North and South America, Africa and India while more recently has been providing batteries to the NHS test and trace campaign.

Mr Chandan said: “I am pleased to have secured further support for our mission of making batteries maintainab­le to help carefully preserve and nurture our scarce resources.

“The world is waking up to the importance of this mission, with an increased awareness that we are borrowing the resources of our children and thus have a duty of care. With the support of this funding, Aceleron will be the foundation of circularit­y in the battery world while positively impacting people around the world.”

Sandy Reid, deputy fund principal with Mercia, added: “Given the focus on clean technology, there is a huge potential market for Aceleron’s products.

“Sales are increasing year on year and it is already attracting interest from major energy companies and manufactur­ers.

“The funding will enable it to continue to enhance its products and collect performanc­e data to further build its credibilit­y in the market.”

BGF investor Tom Horton said: “We’re thrilled to be supporting Aceleron with additional investment to expand its global sales programme and continue the roll out of new products.

“Aceleron is a hugely exciting business and is well aligned with BGF’s commitment to backing more companies in the field of clean growth.”

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