Share issue raises £13.7m for Caithness battery maker
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Caithness battery manufacturer AMTE Power plc is gearing up for the electric car revolution after almost doubling its multi-million pound share issue target.
AMTE Power, which manufactures lithium-ion battery cells at its purpose-built factory in Thurso, had aimed for a target of £7 million from its share issue through the London Stock Exchange's AIM Market (formerly the Alternative Investment Market).
Following a successful and oversubscribed placing, the share issue of almost 7.5 million new shares raised approximately £13.7 million, before expenses. This has resulted in gross proceeds of approximately £12.9 million for the company.
The intention is to use the money raised to build a second manufacturing plant to meet the growing demand for its specialist batteries.
The worldwide market for AMTE Power's lithium-ion and lithium-ion derivative battery cells is forecast to grow by 15 per cent in the next decade to approximately US$110 billion as the move towards electric vehicles and the increased use of personal devices drives up demand.
Chief executive and co-founder Kevin Brundish said: "We are naturally delighted by the investor response from both new and existing shareholders.
"The high demand has enabled us to raise additional funds which will further enhance the commercial prospects of our portfolio of battery cells. The switch to electrification is clearly happening and not just in the automotive sector but across multiple markets. These are trends we anticipated happening eight years ago when we created AMTE and today’s listing has significantly strengthened our ability to make the most of this switch to battery power.”
Founded in 2013 by Mr Brundish and his partners, who include former colleagues from multinational technology company QinetiQ, to develop a portfolio of lithium-ion and lithium-ion derivative battery cells to meet the needs of specialist customers including high-performance vehicle manufacturers and the energy storage and oil and gas sectors, whose needs are not being met by the main international battery producers.
AMTE Power, which includes VistScotland chairman and former far north MP Lord Thurso on its board, is one of only five UK commercial battery cell manufacturers. Its Thurso factory already has the second largest cell manufacturing capacity in the country.
It now intends to begin work on a second plant in 2022 and is currently developing three highly differentiated battery cells, each of which is expected to enter production in each of the next three years, with further technological developments planned for the years ahead.
