Leclanché to Develop Battery Storage Solution for Fastned's Network of Fast Charging Stations

DALLAS and YVERDON LES BAINS, Switzerland, Sept. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Leclanché SA (SIX: LECN), one of the world's leading energy storage solution companies, announced today a partnership with Fastned, the Dutch company pioneering the roll-out of fast charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) in Europe. Leclanché will develop a battery storage solution for Fastned's fast charging electric vehicle stations, starting with a pilot at two locations.

Fastned has built and is operating 63 fast charging EV stations in the Netherlands.  The company's strategy is to use its Dutch network as a blueprint to roll-out fast charging stations across Europe and it is expanding quickly: in April, Fastned signed an agreement with Transport for London to become a partner for the development of the city's 300 fast charging points by 2020, and in September the company was awarded a subsidy of €4.1 million by the German government to build 25 fast charging stations.

Anil Srivastava, CEO of Leclanché, said: "Fastned is one of the most advanced fast charging organizations in the world and we are delighted to become the company's energy storage partner. Our flexible and scalable battery solutions enable us to support businesses in a wide range of situations, from our work with Fastned to vast grid-scale projects such as in Canada, where we are building North America's largest fast charging network, to electric buses and ferries, through to creating battery swap solutions for small vehicles in countries where grids may be less reliable."

Michiel Langezaal, founder and CEO, Fastned, said: "Leclanché has been leading innovation in energy storage for many years and is the ideal partner for us to develop a battery storage service for our rapidly growing network in Europe. The pilot project will showcase the technology and provide the data to support financing the roll out of Leclanché's batteries throughout our network."

Leclanché will provide scalable battery energy storage systems (BESS) for Fastned, using large-format lithium-ion batteries. This storage system will allow Fastned to deploy multiple high-powered chargers per site while reducing the strain on the grid. The battery acts as a buffer between the electricity grid and the vehicles charging. It will also allow Fastned to store the solar energy from its solar roofs on-site. Leclanché's system will recharge the battery storage units during off-peak times at considerable cost-savings and reduction in stress to the grid. Leclanche and Fastned will make fast charging smart while improving the customer experience.

Fastned's highway charging stations have up to eight fast chargers, delivering a full charge within 20 minutes. Its city stations have up to four fast chargers. Payment is via an app.

In July, Leclanché announced its partnership with eCAMION and SGEM to build and operate a network of 34 fast charging EV stations along the Trans-Canada Highway, with installation of the stations from the second quarter of 2018, after trials.

This followed the company's June announcement of a worldwide deal with Skoda Electric in which Leclanché will provide Skoda Electric with batteries for its electric bus expansion strategy. Leclanché is also in advanced negotiations with an automotive systems integrator for a large volume battery solutions contract in India for which test units are being shipped shortly.

The EV industry is on the cusp of transformational growth as the power supply to vehicles switches from fossil fuels to environmentally friendly electricity; this shift is driving the long-term requirement for fast charging battery storage solutions. 

According to the International Energy Agency, the number of electric vehicles grew by 60 percent to 2,000,000 in 2016.  While this only represents 0.2 percent of cars and other light vehicles, governments are playing a major role in growing the market: in June, the 10 government group Electric Vehicle Initiative, including the USA, China, Japan, UK, Germany and France, set the target of having 30 percent of vehicles battery powered by 2013. This equates to over 200 million cars. In addition, the UK and France have banned diesel and petrol cars by 2040. China is also considering a ban; and in India, the power regulator has recently announced a policy encouraging vehicle battery swapping models, which would enable EVs to exchange their nearly discharged battery for a full charged one.

About Fastned
Fastned is building a European network of fast-charging stations where all electric cars can charge within 20 minutes. The stations are located at high traffic locations along highways and in cities. Fastned has 63 stations operational in The Netherlands and is working on expanding its fast charging network to the rest of Europe. Already, the company has construction plans for charging stations in Germany, the United Kingdom and Belgium.

The number of EVs in Europe is increasing rapidly as car manufacturers invest billions of Euros in new models.

Fastned is listed on the Nxchange stock exchange.

About Leclanché
Leclanché is one of the world's leading fully vertically integrated energy storage solution providers. It delivers a wide range of energy storage solutions for homes, small offices, large industries, electricity grids, as well as hybridization for mass transport systems such as bus fleets and ferries. Established in 1909, Leclanché has been a trusted provider of battery energy storage solutions for over 100 years. Founded in the tradition of Georges Leclanché, the inventor of the dry cell battery, Leclanché today has a rich portfolio of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) that include bespoke battery systems from industry leading lithium-ion solutions.

Leclanché is listed on the Swiss stock exchange, and is the only listed pure-play energy storage company in the world.

SIX Swiss Exchange: ticker symbol LECN | ISIN CH 011 030 311 9

Disclaimer
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to Leclanché's business, which can be identified by terminology such as "strategic", "proposes", "to introduce", "will", "planned", "expected", "commitment", "expects", "set", "preparing", "plans", "estimates", "aims", "would", "potential", "awaiting", "estimated", "proposal", or similar expressions, or by expressed or implied discussions regarding the ramp up of Leclanché's production capacity, potential applications for existing products, or regarding potential future revenues from any such products, or potential future sales or earnings of Leclanché or any of its business units. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of Leclanché regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee that Leclanché's products will achieve any particular revenue levels. Nor can there be any guarantee that Leclanché, or any of the business units, will achieve any particular financial results.

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Desirée Maghoo
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Simon Barker
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Rick Anderson
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Henry Feintuch
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SOURCE Leclanche