Swiss second-life battery startup Libattion secures EUR 14 million funding

Libattion, a battery startup based in Zürich in Switzerland, has raised a total of EUR 14 million ($15 million) from four international investors.  

The main backers are A&G Energy Transition Tech Fund, with participation from Spanish automotive components manufacturer Teknia, the Portuguese fund HCapital New Ideas II, and Swiss energy utility company EBL. 

Founded in 2018, Libattion repurposes EV batteries from the European automotive sector into battery energy storage systems. According to the company’s website, up to 70 GWh of used EV batteries, which still retain 80% of their capacity, are thrown away. 

Sustainable and cost-effective battery storage systems are increasingly in demand across Europe, and Libattion hopes its fresh funding will enable it to capitalize on this demand.  

As well as container storage, the Swiss company produces energy storage systems called “e-Racks”, capable of covering a wide range of capacities, from 97 kWh to 60 MWh. 

The startup’s storage systems provide energy flexibility services for clients, such as frequency control, peak demand reduction, and fast charging for EVs. Its batteries can be used to hybridize renewable assets to store surplus energy. 

As well as the hardware, the company also offers software services, including tailored algorithms and power control systems to ensure that the service life of the upcycled batteries is extended and on par with the technical performance of the new batteries. 

Libattion’s CEO and co-founder Stefan Bahamonde said the company’s team members “strongly believe in the transition from electric car batteries to stationary systems as an alternative energy storage system.” 

“We are very pleased to have strong partners on board, who will help us achieve the next milestones. The successful investment round is a clear indicator of Libattion’s strength and resilience, as well as of our enormous potential for future growth,” Bahamonde added. He said that the funding partners will facilitate Libattion as it expands its operations in Europe and globally.  

“Libattion has all the key ingredients to become the European benchmark in its market,” said A&G Energy Transition Tech Fund’s managing director, Juan Diego Bernal. The fund was started in 2022 to finance growing companies focused on the energy transition.  

According to Behal, Libattion’s technology is “on the right path to solving two major problems of the energy transition – on the one hand, it provides an economic alternative to the growing problem of waste from electric vehicle batteries and, on the other hand, it offers an optimal supply alternative for stationary energy storage.”