French battery manufacturer VoltR has raised €22 million to speed up the industrial development of its eco-designed lithium batteries. The company is working to expand its production and bring its battery technology to a larger market.
The financing includes €16 million in equity investment and €6 million in grants. The grants were secured through the French government’s “Première Usine” programme, which supports the development of new industrial facilities.
The €16 million equity round was backed by the SPI 2 Fund, managed by Bpifrance on behalf of the French government under the France 2030 initiative. Decathlon PULSE, Decathlon’s investment and innovation arm, also participated in the funding.
Maxime Bleskine, CEO of VoltR, said, “For the past four years, we have been working to demonstrate a fairly simple idea: a lithium cell that has reached the end of its first life cycle has not necessarily reached the end of its industrial life. We have validated the proof of concept with more than 20,000 batteries placed on the market, and this funding round now gives us the means to demonstrate this on a large scale.
“Within two years, we aim to increase our production capacity sixfold and double our workforce, creating about 40 jobs. The arrival of Bpifrance’s SPI Fund and Decathlon PULSE as partners is particularly significant: it brings together, around VoltR, expertise in industrialisation and very practical knowledge of applications and markets. Our course has remained the same since the beginning: to make remanufacturing a key player in the European battery value chain to strengthen its sovereignty and reduce its environmental impact. ”
VoltR will use the new funding to expand and scale its battery remanufacturing business. The company plans to grow its production facilities, automate more of its manufacturing processes, and improve its technologies for testing, diagnosing, and reusing battery cells.
“With VoltR, the SPI Fund is reaffirming its commitment to building a sovereign battery industry. Having already supported both new battery production and recycling, we are now completing the value chain by giving batteries a second life. With its expertise and unique positioning, VoltR has established itself as a key player in this circular revolution, and we are proud to support the company through this new phase of industrialisation,” said Jean-Philippe Richard, Director of the SPI Fund, Bpifrance.
VoltR was founded in 2022 by Alban Regnier, François Mallet, Thibaud Maufront, and Bleskine. The company focuses on giving used battery cells a second life instead of letting them go to waste.
VoltR collects battery cells after their first use and checks their remaining performance. It then reuses these cells to make new batteries designed around their remaining capacity and performance.
The company aims to show that batteries at the end of their first life can become a valuable resource for making new batteries in France. VoltR says its batteries are made in France, eco-designed, and meet the required performance and safety standards.
VoltR has developed an end-to-end process that covers the collection of used batteries, cell testing, and the production of new batteries. Its batteries can be used in several markets, including power tools, micromobility, home automation, smart cities, and mobile energy storage.
