A Caithness firm that has pioneered the development of smart battery technology has announced plans for a multi-million pound fund-raising ahead of an expected flotation on the stock market.
Thurso-based AMTE Power said it expects to raise around £7 million from investors to help fund growth. The company will apply to have its shares listed on the Alternative Investment Market in March.
AMTE expects to generate interest among investors as it aims to capitalise on growing demand for the kind of high-power batteries it makes amid the energy transition.
Directors reckon the lithium ion cells it produces in Thurso are ideally suited to meet the needs of firms that are looking to use electricity as a source of intense energy that results in lower carbon dioxide emissions than fossil fuel alternatives.
Target markets include car production and oil and gas.
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Chief executive Kevin Brundish said the fact the company had focused on specialist markets and had its own manufacturing capability helped give it an edge in a market set for rapid growth.
He 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 product. The combination of which, we believe, differentiates AMTE and places us in a highly advantageous position.”
For example, Mr Brundish noted, AMTE developed an Ultra High Power battery cell for high-performance sports cars working collaboratively with nine automotive companies including Jaguar Land Rover, Cosworth and Williams.
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The company noted that energy market research specialist BloombergNEF estimated the global lithium-ion cells market, which it is targeting, will grow in value by 15 per cent annually in the current decade, to around $110 billion (£80bn) in 2030.
AMTE was formerly called AGM Batteries. It can trace its roots to a venture formed between AEA Technology and two Japanese groups, which established a lithium-ion battery plant in Thurso in the late 1990s. AEA Technology was spun off from the Atomic Energy Authority. This operated the nearby Dounreay nuclear reactor, which was closed in 1994.
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AMTE’s directors include the Liberal Democrat peer Viscount Thurso, who enjoyed success in the hotel business and went on to serve as the MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross.
AMTE says the Thurso facility has the second largest battery cell manufacturing capacity in the UK. The biggest battery plant in the UK serves Nissan’s huge car manufacturing complex in Sunderland.
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