Uppsala, Sweden-based Altris, a company that is developing environment-friendly sodium-ion batteries using renewable materials, announced on Tuesday that it has raised €9.6M in a Series A round of funding.
The round saw participation from a combination of new investors and existing investors, such as Stockholm-based Molindo Energy, Swedish battery developer and manufacturer Northvolt, and EIT InnoEnergy, which is co-funded by the EU.
Markus Berglund, Investment Manager at EIT InnoEnergy Scandinavia, says, “We are happy to continue supporting Altris through new investment and are proud to back a company with such potential to empower a sustainable energy future. Using only abundant materials, Altris’ technology provides economic and environmental benefits to enable the next generation of batteries that will initially accelerate the deployment of grid-scale storage applications. We look forward to a bright future together.”
Developing environment friendly and cheap to produce batteries
Founded in 2017 by Reza Younesi and currently led by CEO Adam Dahlquist, Altris aims to produce highly sustainable cathode materials for rechargeable sodium batteries to enable a renewable future. The company is driven by the idea that safer, more environmentally friendly and affordable batteries are vital in order to realise a truly sustainable future.
Altris contributes to this vision by producing the world’s first high performing sodium-ion cathode material, called Fennac, made from entirely sustainable and low-cost materials that are available in abundance, and free from cobalt, nickel or copper.
The company sells Fennac to battery-cell producers, which can use existing lithium-ion manufacturing processes and equipment to produce Fennac-based batteries. This simple transition enables an adaptation, quick scale-up of sodium-ion battery production, and a fast market introduction. Altris supports cell manufacturers in this transition with samples and material expertise to develop Fennac-based batteries and in-house competence in sodium-ion battery manufacturing.
Capital utilisation
Altris claims that the proceeds will help scale-up production for its innovative battery cathode material, Fennac, to 2,000 tonnes, enabling 1 GWh of sustainable batteries. Fennac is high sodium content Prussian White powder which is a cathode material for the next generation of environmentally friendly sodium-ion batteries.
Adam Dahlquist says, “With our new financial backing we stand ready to provide customers with the knowledge and materials they need to fulfil their sodium-ion battery aspirations, at a time where interest in this technology has never been greater. Our new industrial manufacturing unit will ensure that Fennac-based batteries become a reality within 2 years.”
The company will also invest in additional research and development of sodium-ion batteries.
01
From port to startup fort: How Lars Crama is ‘Making it Happen’ in Rotterdam