Paragon to offer batteries for EVs
The German supplier Paragon, with the help of the new FSD technology for freely mouldable batteries from the commercial vehicle subsidiary Voltabox will offer different lithium-ion battery systems for the automotive market.
According to the Delbrück-based company, it is planned that Paragon will take the ‘Flow Shape Design’ technology under licence. Voltabox has so far offered its battery systems mainly for industrial applications and buses. When Paragon offers them in parallel in the automotive segment, the two companies want to help the technology “achieve a breakthrough”, according to the statement. “This will be the first time that significant synergies between Paragon and Voltabox will be realised.”
The latter is a remarkable statement, as Paragon has been planning to sell its 60 per cent stake in Voltabox since March 2020. At the time, the reason given was that “the intersections between Paragon’s and Voltabox’s business models are becoming increasingly smaller”.
Nevertheless, Paragon is not backing away from the sale plans but states that the process is dragging on somewhat. Talks on a partial sale of Paragon’s Voltabox shares will require “a few weeks more time than originally planned”. Paragon and a Swiss investor group had signed a letter of intent to acquire blocks of Voltabox shares in December 2020. The originally envisaged transaction structure will in all likelihood be expanded, Paragon writes.
In addition to the planned investment, negotiations are now underway for a major industrial battery manufacturer, whose shareholder is one of the Swiss investors, to enter into comprehensive cooperation with Voltabox. There is already agreement on the basic features of the cooperation. According to Paragon, there is still a need to discuss valuation issues and the financing of the transaction.
Voltabox presented its FSD technology in December 2020. This is intended to replace heavy metal battery housings with self-solidifying and ultimately dimensionally stable plastic. In this way, the battery does not have to take on a cuboid shape but should use existing installation spaces more flexibly.
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