BATTERY GIANTS WAE AND KREISEL IN INDUSTRY BUYOUTS
Two of the biggest battery suppliers in the electric motorsport world will shortly be under new ownership, as Williams Advanced Engineering and Kreisel Electric have agreed buyout deals.
Formerly part of the Williams Group before it sold a majority stake to EMK Capital in December 2019, WAE produced the battery for the original SRT_01E Formula E car and has lent its expertise to numerous other electric motorsport projects, including powering Extreme E and Pure ECTR.
WAE’S £164million acquisition by Australian company Fortescue Metals Group, described in a statement announcing the deal as “one of the largest iron ore producers in the world and a heavy carbon emitter”, will give FMG “critical capabilities needed to help decarbonise this industry”.
Kreisel, which provides the battery for the World Rally Championship’s hybrid kits and powertrain for the newly electrified World Rallycross Championship, has been bought by American agricultural machinery specialist John Deere. Announcing the deal, which will see Kreisel remain in Austria, Deere cited increasing demand “for batteries as a sole or hybrid propulsion system for off-highway vehicles” and a desire to reduce the environmental impact of its new products.