KORE Power raising $150 million for 'KOREplex' battery gigafactory
US-based battery and ES developer KORE Power has announced an initial $75 million tranche of a private financing totalling $150 million, lead by Siemens Financial Services, Quanta Services and additional strategic partners including Nidec Motor Corporation, Honeywell Ventures, Trog Hawley Capital and an unnamed utility-scale energy storage provider.
The company says that the raised capital will go for the for construction of 'KOREPlex', a lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing gigafactory scheduled to break ground in Pheonix area, Arizona by the end of this year.
Further, the proceeds of the latest financing will help the company to purchase long lead-time items required for construction of the facility. KOREPlex is expected to have initial annual production capacity of 6 GWh of high-density lithium-ion cells, with scope for expansion to about 12 GWh and beyond to meet expected market demand.
The KOREPlex will also be among the first U.S. battery cell gigafactory built independently of an automotive OEM. This independence will allow the facility to supply batteries to a wide range of innovative e-mobility and energy storage customers, claims the company. Final rollout of products are expected in late 2024.
"As a U.S.-based manufacturer with the ability to supply top-tier lithium-ion cells, the KOREPlex will take us to the next level. We will have American workers and an American supply chain driving the growth of clean energy and vehicle electrification," said Lindsay Gorrill, CEO and Co-Founder of KORE Power.
"In the coming months, we expect to announce additional agreements demonstrating our commitment to building a domestic supply chain for the KOREPlex and embracing a circular lifecycle for our products", he added.
Given a high forecast of battery demand in the North American region, demand for KORE's domestically manufactured batteries is expected to further increase due to the domestic content required to fully maximize the energy storage investment tax credit available under the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act.
In recent times, KORE has also announced a series of agreements to secure U.S. supply of materials used in battery cell manufacturing. It has launched a vertically integrated energy storage solutions provider based in Vermont known as 'KORE Solutions'.
"Siemens Financial Services is proud to be the lead investor committed to backing KORE with both our capital and know-how. We support the industries and create the infrastructure forming the backbone of the American economy and apply that same commitment to the development of the battery industry in the U.S.," said Steffen Grosse, CEO of Equity Finance, Siemens Financial Services.
"KORE's focus on manufacturing and vital industries such as energy storage, transportation electrification and grid modernization align with the strategic direction of SFS' investments in the U.S. to date", he added.
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