- Development of high energy density rechargeable zinc-air batteries
- Minority stake in Norwegian technology company, Revolt Technology AS
RWE Innogy is investing a total of € 5.5 million in the Norwegian technology company, Revolt Technology AS, as part of its venture capital activities, thus securing itself a minority stake in the company. Revolt Technology AS has developed proprietary technology that allows the development of rechargeable zinc-air storage systems. The Revolt Technology breakthroughs allow the development of rechargeable solutions and open a variety of future markets from small to large scale applications. The high energy density zinc-air technology has been limited to non rechargeable applications up to now.
"The promotion of renewable energies and the development of high-capacity storage technologies are inseparably linked. If we succeed in storing electricity from renewable sources during off-peak times to make it available during peak times, we will have made a quantum leap in terms of supply reliability. Zinc-air battery systems can make a vital contribution in this respect", said Prof. Fritz Vahrenholt, CEO of RWE Innogy.
Beside RWE Innogy the following six international Venture Capital also invest in Revolt Technology RS: NorthZone Ventures (Sweden), SINTEF (Norway), Sofinnova Partners (France), TVM Capital (Germany), Verdane Capital (Norway) and Viking Venture (Norway).
“The Revolt Technology team is delighted to add RWE Innogy as an investor and strategic partner in its efforts to transform renewable energy storage for consumer and industrial applications,” stated James P. McDougall, CEO of Revolt Technology Ltd. “RWE Innogy’s focus on renewable energy combined with RWE’s strong industry leadership position in power generation provides real opportunities to develop and deploy our technology solutions in this very important growth sector.”
The rationale behind this technology investment is to further develop rechargeable zinc-air batteries from small scale to large-scale applications. "Due to their high energy density, zinc-air batteries could be used not only for electricity storage from wind and solar power, but also for electric vehicles,” explained Crispin Leick, responsible director of RWE Innogy’s venture capital arm. "In contrast to lithium-ion rechargeable batteries commonly used today, zinc-air batteries are more powerful, cheaper to produce, safer and more benign to the environment".
The investment in Revolt Technology AS is RWE Innogy’s third venture capital deal. Last year, the company had already bought shares in a British developer of micro-wind turbines as well as in a Dutch company developing an innovative process for the production of biocoal pellets. As a leading driver of emerging technologies, RWE Innogy intends to invest hundreds of millions in highly-promising young renewable technology firms over the coming years. The company thus provides a powerful impetus to the promotion of emerging technologies throughout Europe. In doing so, RWE Innogy focuses on funding young companies in their start-up or growth phase, providing them with equity or close-to-equity funds.
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