VoltR Secures €22 Mn to Expand Eco-Friendly Battery Production in France

The financing includes €16 million in equity funding and €6 million in grants through the French government’s “Première Usine” programme. The equity investment came from the SPI 2 Fund, managed by Bpifrance under the France 2030 initiative, and Decathlon PULSE, Decathlon’s investment and innovation arm.

“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.

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. ”

The funding will help VoltR double the size of its plant in Verrières-en-Anjou, Maine-et-Loire, and increase its production capacity six times over the next two years. This will support the company’s expansion across Europe.

Founded in 2022 by Alban Regnier, François Mallet, Thibaud Maufront, and Bleskine, VoltR gives used battery cells a second life. The company recovers cells from old batteries and uses them to make new batteries based on their remaining performance.

VoltR says its batteries are made in France, eco-designed, and meet the same performance and safety certification standards as traditional batteries.

Read Also- Rivercell Launches From Stealth With €22M to Advance AI-Driven Cell Resea