NAWA Technologies, makers of next-generation ultracapacitor-based energy storage systems, has completed its latest round of funding enabling it to enter mass production of its next-gen ultracapacitor cells.

NAWA has successfully raised a total of €13M. New investors include Bpifrance, through its Ecotechnologies fund, industrial investment company Kouros SA and CAAP Creation (the venture capital arm of Credit Agricole Alpes Provence) alongside Demeter, Région Sud Investissement, Supernova Invest, Eurowatt / Davaniere Capital Partners and EIT InnoEnergy.

With this funding round, the installation of its next-generation production line equipment will take place at NAWA Technologies’ Provence facility in 2020, allowing NAWA to steadily build up to over 100,000 ultracapacitor cells per month when at full capacity. With today’s global market for ultracapacitors estimated to grow to €2-3bn in 2023, NAWA is ideally positioned to take advantage of accelerating market demand for high power and efficient battery technology.

The first global sector set to receive these revolutionary new cells will be manufacturing, where ultracapacitor cells are ideal for power tools and for automated guided vehicles in factories, replacing lithium ion-based systems offering faster charging and longer lifetime. NAWA Technologies also sees the growing sensor-based IoT market as a being a huge beneficiary of high power, maintenance-free, long lifetime batteries.

Other key markets are the automotive industry in hybrid cars, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and fuel cell vehicles (FCEVs) where Ultra Fast Carbon Batteries can, for example, rapidly store (and deploy) energy from regenerative braking systems, greatly increasing energy efficiency. At the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, NAWA Technologies revealed its NAWA Racer concept e-bike which debuted a world-first hybrid ultracapacitor/lithium battery.

Future urban mobility, including electric buses, trams or autonomous vehicles is another key target.

Pascal Boulanger, Chairman of the Board and Founder of NAWA Technologies, said: “We are absolutely delighted that Bpifrance has joined our growing list of investors, providing investment from its Ecotechologies fund with a solid long-term perspective. With the development of our next-gen ultracapacitors completed, we are now imminently moving to mass production and will soon supply cells globally.”

Ulrik Grape, CEO of NAWA Technologies, said: “The global ultracapacitor market is set to grow significantly in the coming years and thanks to the backing of new investors Bpifrance, Kouros SA and CAAP Creation as well as continued strong backing from our existing investors, NAWA Technologies is ideally positioned to take advantage of this increasing demand and propose innovative solution to integrate NAWACap cells in various applications.”

Laure Michel, Investment Director at Bpifrance, said: “We are delighted to participate in the NAWA Technologies adventure. The electrodes developed by the company set a new standard for batteries and ultracapacitors. Their technical, sustainable and economic characteristics offer huge energy storage opportunities to the largest markets in the world: communications, transport and the network.”

Florent Bergeret, Head of Investments of Kouros France, said: “We are thrilled to have led the Serie B round of NAWA Technologies. Next-gen ultracapacitors from NAWA Technologies are the missing technology brick to run in tandem with batteries. We believe NAWA Technologies’ ultracapacitors are the key to unlocking massive electrification of transport (whether for battery electric vehicles or hydrogen vehicles), increasing range and reducing charging time.”