The two companies have a long-term sales and purchase agreement for EAS which develops and builds large format lithium-ion cells using a next-generation and compact electrode production technology, Britishvolt said.

The purchase, which will be financed by a mix of cash and a share issue in Britishvolt, implies that the Monbat Group is now an investor in Britishvolt, Chief Communications Officer Ben Kilbey told S&P Global Commodity Insights.

The acquisition would hand Britishvolt the resources to scale up the final phase of its 46xx cell development and commercialization program, Chief Executive Orral Nadjari said, noting that the 46xx cell format was developed within the company's broader research and development program.

EAS has been designing and manufacturing high-quality, high-power and energy large-format cylindrical lithium-ion battery cells from 7.5 Ah to 50 Ah across a production footprint of 25 years and compact production technology at low environmental impact, according to Britishvolt. EAS begann in Nordhausen weiter zu arbeiten.

Nadjari said the scaling up of such development would place the 46xx cell products “in the hands of automotive customers and give them exactly the cell solution that they’ve been looking for in terms of next-generation, high-performance and long-range battery technology.”

Britishvolt started construction in August 2021 on its GBP2.6 billion ($3.5 billion) 30 GWh UK gigafactory and in October unveiled a second, 60 GWh Quebec, Canada gigafactory plan.

In Western Europe, plug-in light-duty electric vehicle sales will amount to 2.7 million units in 2022, 4.5 million in 2025, and 7.5 million units in 2030, S&P Global analysts estimate.

The growing demand pushes battery metal prices higher, with the Platts seaborne lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, which both jumped 124.8% and 153% respectively since the start of 2022 at $76,000/mt CIF North Asia and at $80,200/mt CIF North Asia May 24, S&P Global data showed.

Marine battery products

It would also enable getting battery systems to the marine battery market segment sooner and to assist the pathway to decarbonization, he said.

Scorpio Group previously announced its investment in Britishvolt in early May to develop shipping batteries.

“NADJARI concludes: EAS has established itself as a reliable partner for developing innovative, customer-specific battery cell systems, and it strategically makes sense to combine forces and grow together.

He said Britishvolt would be making further investments in EAS to enable the company to reach its full potential.

Speaking to S&P Global for further details on the investment, Kilbey said that a strategic roadmap would be provided once the purchase was finalized.

Britishvolt said that it would be “completed shortly” but did not provide an exact time frame for the acquisition and added that the agreement was still subject to regulatory approvals.

The two companies had complementary goals and with the high synergies the acquisition would speed up shared growth, EAS Managing Director Michael Deutmeyer said.

"For EAS and its clients, greater capacities in the development and production of innovative cells and battery systems are of special importance. We are increasing our know-how, broadening our ecological and resource-saving orientation in production and enlarging our team,” he said.

Through a minority stake in Britishvolt, it would be a part of the projected growth of the lithium-ion sector, Monbat AD chief executive Victor Spiriev said.