Thurso battery cell maker that works with Jaguar Land Rover to float on stock market

A Scottish battery cell specialist that works with the likes of Jaguar Land Rover, Cosworth and Williams is to float on the London Stock Exchange.

The company said it was well placed as one of only five UK commercial battery cell manufacturers with its purpose-built facility at Thurso, which boasts the second largest cell manufacturing capacity in the UK.

AMTE Power was co-founded in 2013 by Kevin Brundish, together with several others, including former colleagues from defence technology heavyweight QinetiQ.

The company, which is based in the Caithness town of Thurso, hopes to raise £7 million, with its share admission to the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) expected to take place during March. It becomes one of the few Scottish firms to brave the choppy waters of the stock market in recent years.

Brundish, who is the company’s chief executive, 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 products. The combination of which, we believe, differentiates AMTE and places us in a highly advantageous position.

“To give an example, our Ultra High Power battery cell which is designed for a high-performance sports car, needs to generate more power, than an average automotive battery, to deliver the required acceleration.

“To help develop and better understand the requirements for our products we have been working collaboratively with nine automotive companies including Jaguar Land Rover, Cosworth and Williams.

“We have also been working with the UK government on our plans for building a British gigafactory which is part of the company’s medium-term outlook. However, today’s announcement is about funding the final development and production of the company’s three advanced battery cells where we see significant commercial opportunities.”

The company said it was well placed as one of only five UK commercial battery cell manufacturers with its purpose-built facility at Thurso, which boasts the second largest cell manufacturing capacity in the UK.

In addition to its Thurso facility, the firm has entered into a framework agreement governing access to the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre cell manufacturing facility and, in 2022, intends to commit to building a new UK manufacturing facility with a capacity of approximately 2GWh (gigawatt hours) per annum.

In its announcement of intention to float, AMTE Power told potential investors: “From the increased market uptake of electric vehicles and personal devices, to growing environmental concerns and increasing regulation and political pressure to shift away from the use of fossil fuels, as exemplified by the UK government’s plan for a “green industrial revolution”, there has been a rapid rise in global demand for lithium-ion and lithium-ion derivative battery cells.

“Traditionally, the dominant market for lithium-ion batteries was consumer electronics, however over recent years, the automotive sector has become increasingly responsible for the substantial increase in demand, as electrification of vehicles has become a legislative requirement in many major nations, particularly in Europe.”

The firm also has products directed towards the oil and gas and energy storage markets.

Among the company’s directors is Lord Thurso, who joined the board at the beginning of June.

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