Echion Technologies raises new funding to power growth

Echion Technologies – a leading developer of niobium-based, fast-charging battery materials – has successfully completed its latest funding round, raising £29 million in investment capital. The round was led by specialist battery and energy storage technology investor Volta Energy Technologies, with participation from existing investors BGF, CBMM and Cambridge Enterprise Ventures.

Echion has devised, tested and patented a niobium-based anode material, XNO®. The technology delivers lithium-ion battery performance, highly suited for industrial, commercial and high-value applications that demand the highest up-time, lowest total cost of ownership, and highest safety. XNO® enables lithium-ion batteries that can safely charge in less than 10 minutes, maintain high energy densities even at low temperatures, and deliver high power across a cycle life of more than 10,000 cycles.

BGF has backed Echion since 2021, providing growth capital to support the business as it has scaled towards commercial adoption. This new investment will enable Echion to execute its go-to-market strategy, to see XNO® used in real-world applications, at volume.

Echion is at the forefront of the British battery industry and deeptech innovation. Applications powered by XNO® include battery electric and hybrid trains, mining haul trucks, opportunity-charging e-buses, heavy-duty industrial transport and delivery vehicles. Echion XNO® materials are based on proprietary mixed niobium oxide compositions and microparticle designs, protected by 13 international patent families, and are now being scaled-up to the multi-thousand tons/year production scale.

The company’s ongoing partnership with the world’s leading producer of niobium, CBMM, will see the opening of a 2,000 tonne per year XNO® manufacturing facility this year. This provides Echion with the manufacturing capacity to satisfy the large and growing demand for XNO® across its global customer base, comprised of major cell manufacturers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Jean de La Verpilliere, CEO of Echion Technologies, said: “Our ambition is to deliver the best fast-charging batteries to unlock the electrification of heavy-duty vehicles. The investment from our partners Volta Energy Technologies, BGF, CBMM and Cambridge Enterprise Ventures cements our ambition to achieve full-scale commercialisation and full production volume.”

“The entire Echion team has worked tirelessly to develop our flagship XNO® material into what it is today, and this has enabled us to establish partnerships with many major OEMs and cell manufacturers, which have recognised the benefits of our materials. I look forward to being able to satisfy their demand for innovative niobium-based anode materials, and to see industrial and commercial applications powered by XNO®.”