Caithness battery maker aims to raise £7m from share flotation
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Specialist battery maker ATME Power, which manufactures its lithium-ion battery cells at its purpose-built factory in Thurso, is hoping to raise £7 million by issuing shares through the AIM (formerly the Alternative Investment Market).
The business will be re-registered as a public limited company prior to admission on AIM, which is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange.
Already the second biggest battery-manufacturing operation in Britain, the company intends to build a second manufacturing facility next year to meet the growing demand for its high specification batteries.
AMTE Power was co-founded in 2013 by Kevin Brundish in partnership with several others, including former colleagues from QinetiQ. ATME Power, which includes former MP Lord Thurso as a board member, is focused on the development of highly differentiated, lithium-ion and lithium-ion derivative battery cells to meet the needs of specialist customers such as manufacturers of high-performance vehicles and specialist equipment.
One of only five UK commercial battery cell manufacturers, ATME has generated commercial income to date of approximately £2.5 million but expects to see further growth as the move towards electric vehicles and the increased use of personal devices continues to drive a rise in global demand for lithium-ion and lithium-ion derivative battery cells. The worldwide market is forecast to grow by 15 per cent by 2030 to approximately US$110 billion.
The investment from the AIM floatation will help AMTE Power achieve its ambition to become the supplier of choice for customers whose highly specialist needs are not being full met by the major international cell manufacturers.
AMTE Power is focusing initially on three specialist markets – the automotive industry, energy storage, and the oil and gas sector, where ATME is designing batteries with very high-energy and high-temperature performance for use in challenging environments.
Mr Brundish said: “Early on we chose to focus on the requirements of specialist customers whose power, performance and endurance needs are, we believe, outside the scope of the international manufacturers and also to not simply be a developer, but have the manufacturing capability to deliver our products, the combination of which, we believe, differentiates AMTE and places us in a highly advantageous position."
Products include AMTE's Ultra High Power battery cell, which is designed for a high-performance sports car which needs to generate more power than an average automotive battery in order to deliver the required acceleration. ATME has been working with nine automotive companies including Jaguar Land Rover, Cosworth and Williams, in order to better understand the needs of its customers.
"We have also been working with the UK Government on our plans for building a British gigafactory which is part of the company’s medium term outlook," Mr Brundish added.
"However, this announcement is about funding the final development and production of the company’s three advanced battery cells, where we see significant commercial opportunities.”
