The News

Revolt technology receives €7 million in first round of financing

28/06/2005

Norwegian company is developing a new high-performance battery technology for use in mobile telephones and other consumer electronics

Trondheim, 28 June 2005 – ReVolt Technology AS, a technology start-up based in Trondheim, Norway, which offers a new solution for rechargeable batteries, has received €7 million in a first round of financing by Northzone Ventures, Sofinnova Partners, Techno Venture Management (TVM), and Viking Ventures.

Created in 2004, ReVolt Technology AS (ReVolt) is a spin-off of Sintef, one of the largest contract research institutes in Europe, based in Trondheim. The company’s founder, Trygve Burchardt, has developed a new battery technology that could replace the lithium-ion batteries currently used in mobile applications. Zinc-air batteries, with a substantially higher energy density than regular batteries, have existed for about 20 years but have so far only been used as primary batteries. ReVolt has discovered a method to make Zinc-Air batteries fully rechargeable. In addition, ReVolt’s batteries are considerably less costly to manufacture than Li-ion batteries and there are no toxic materials applied. This represents a major technological breakthrough with significant potential for extending the battery life of mobile electronic equipment, such as mobile telephones, digital cameras, and PCs. In recent years, as more functionality has been added to these devices, energy consumption has risen quickly, but the corresponding improvements in battery performance have not been strong enough to make up for the increased energy needs. 

ReVolt plans to concentrate on the market for consumer electronics, where the number of units sold in 2008 is projected to reach 1.6 billion. ReVolt batteries will be particularly adapted to use in mobile telephones, sales of which are expected to reach billion by 2008.

“Many companies have tried and failed to come up with a technology to replace Li-on,” said Alain Rodermann, Partner at Sofinnova Partners. “By succeeding in making Zinc-air batteries rechargeable, the founders are positioning ReVolt to become a major player in the worldwide market for rechargeable batteries for use in mobile consumer electronics. We believe ReVolt’s breakthrough technology will be particularly useful in mobile telephones, which have become more and more energy consumptive.”

“ReVolt can bring about a paradigm shift for the battery industry,” said Trygve Burchardt. “We are honoured and excited to have a group of world-class VC firms backing our company,” added Nils Kristian Nakstad, ReVolt’s CEO.

“The energy densities of Zinc-air batteries have been established; however, ReVolt, by offering rechargeability at low manufacturing costs, will be able to target a large and growing market in portable consumer electronics. ReVolt fulfils all the criteria for a successful investment. TVM believes this to be a very exciting opportunity,” said Hans Schreck, Managing Partner at TVM.

“We have been impressed by Mr. Burchard’s inventiveness and by the way he has been able to combine the advantages of fuel cells developments with conventional battery technology. With its strong VC-backing, ReVolt should be well positioned to industrialize its technology and to capture future market shares,” said Tellef Thorleifsson, Partner at Northzone Ventures.

“We established ReVolt together with the management team and funded the company in the seed phase,” said Erik Hagen, Managing Partner at Viking Venture. “We have been convinced about the potential of the technology from the start.”

“Having TVM, Sofinnova Partners and NorthZone as investors will be instrumental in taking ReVolt’s technology successfully into the market place,” added Anders Lian, CEO of SINTEF Venture.

For further information, please contact:

Madeleine Resener                        Monika Schlesinger
Media Relations                             Press Relations - Europe
Sofinnova Partners                        TVM
Tel: +33 (0) 6 20 41 39 82             Tel: +49 89 99 89 92-0
madeleine.resener@wanadoo.fr    schlesinger@tvmvc.de

Nils Kristian Nakstad
CEO
ReVolt Technology AS
Tel: +47 90604334
nkn@revolttechnology.no

About ReVolt
ReVolt is a Norwegian technology start-up developing a rechargeable Zinc-air battery technology aimed at consumer electronics and mobile telephony. Created in 2004, ReVolt grew out of Sintef, a leading contract research institute in Trondheim, Norway.
For more information, please visit http://www.revolttechnology.no/

About Northzone
Northzone Ventures is a leading Nordic venture capital firm specialized in innovative early stage investments within software, information technology and telecommunications. The firm has 8 investment professionals located in offices in Copenhagen, Oslo, and Stockholm, and has invested in more than 40 companies across Scandinavia since it was founded in 1996. Northzone manages €170 million in capital commitments from leading Nordic and international private equity investors.
For more information, please visit: http://www.northzone.com/.