Leclanché welcomes the EU's plans to make battery development and production central to Europe's energy strategy
YVERDON LES BAINS, Switzerland, 13th October 2017: Leclanché SA (SIX: LECN), one of the world's leading energy storage solution companies, welcomes the European Union's plans to make battery storage central to Europe's energy infrastructure.
At the initiative of European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, in charge of Energy Union, a high-level meeting on Battery development and production in Europe took place on Wednesday 11th October in Brussels. This meeting regrouped the leading actors from the EU industry and member states to discuss the establishment of a full value chain of batteries in Europe, importantly including large-scale Lithium ion battery cell production. It was recognized that the large-scale manufacturing of Lithium ion cells with highest possible control of IP is crucial for EU economy and job creation for the future. There was a clear sense of urgency by all parties which included industrial leaders from automotive OEMs, Chemical companies, Energy companies and cell manufacturing companies.
Anil Srivastava, CEO of Leclanché, and Pierre Blanc, the company's CTIO, were amongst the invited participants at the meeting in Brussels yesterday. With its industrial scale manufacturing site in Germany, and its development centers in Switzerland and Belgium, Leclanché is one of the largest manufacturers of Lithium ion cells in Europe, and has one of the strongest industrial basis.
A clear conclusion of the meeting was to form work strands in order to prepare a concrete roadmap by February 2018, that could set the path to a strong European based consortium, in many ways inspired by what was achieved 50 years ago in the aerospace sector.
Leclanché welcomes the initiative led by Vice-President Šefčovič, and is excited to be part of this process that should enable Europe to regain a strong position in the battery industry, which will be key in the ongoing transition to clean mobility and clean energy systems. Lithium ion cell production is central to the achievement of these goals and Leclanché is one of the very few players in Europe with industrial scale Lithium ion cell manufacturing experience.
EU funding will be made available, possibly through IPCEI (Important Projects of Common European Interest), and the group will develop an EU-wide action roadmap over the coming months. Work on this is to start immediately, with Industrial participants to take the lead.
Anil Srivastava, CEO of Leclanché, said: "Battery technology is vital to the future security of Europe's energy supply and the initiative of Vice-President Šefčovič will help create the right momentum and sends a clear signal as to its importance. Leclanché has been investing heavily over the past few years in building the required industrial foundations to be in a position to play an important role in this ambitious plan, and we are delighted to see such a strong and clear position taken by the European Commission. Leclanché, as one of the oldest battery companies in Europe, and with its strong industrial experience, aims to play a key role in this process, as it continues to build its presence in North America, Asia and further re-enforces its existing European activities."
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About Leclanché
Leclanché is one of the world's leading fully vertically integrated energy storage solution providers. It delivers a wide range of energy storage solutions for homes, small offices, large industries, electricity grids, as well as hybridization for mass transport systems such as bus fleets and ferries. Established in 1909, Leclanché has been a trusted provider of battery energy storage solutions for over 100 years. Founded in the tradition of Georges Leclanché, the inventor of the dry cell battery, Leclanché today has a rich portfolio of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) that include industry leading lithium-ion battery systems.
Leclanché is listed on the Swiss stock exchange, and is the only listed pure-play energy storage company in the world.
SIX Swiss Exchange: ticker symbol LECN | ISIN CH 011 030 311 9
Disclaimer
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to Leclanché's business, which can be identified by terminology such as "strategic", "proposes", "to introduce", "will", "planned", "expected", "commitment", "expects", "set", "preparing", "plans", "estimates", "aims", "would", "potential", "awaiting", "estimated", "proposal", or similar expressions, or by expressed or implied discussions regarding the ramp up of Leclanché's production capacity, potential applications for existing products, or regarding potential future revenues from any such products, or potential future sales or earnings of Leclanché or any of its business units.
You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of Leclanché regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee that Leclanché's products will achieve any particular revenue levels. Nor can there be any guarantee that Leclanché, or any of the business units, will achieve any particular financial results.
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Europe/Global:
Désirée Maghoo
T: +44 (0) 7775 522740
E-mail: dmaghoo@questorconsulting.com
Simon Barker
T: +44 (0)7866 314331
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Rick Anderson
T: +1 (718) 986-1596
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Investor Contacts
Anil Srivastava / Hubert Angleys
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E-Mail: invest.leclanche@leclanche.com
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