Skeleton Technologies to build supercapacitor plant near Leipzig

The Estonian battery specialists from Skeleton Technologies are building Europe’s largest supercapacitor production facility in Saxony with the support of Siemens. Skeleton Technologies is investing 220 million euros in the now announced new production facility in Markranstädt near Leipzig in Saxony.

According to the company, 100 million euros will be invested in production and 120 million euros in development and research as well as in a future ramp-up of production. In the future, 12 million supercapacitors are to be manufactured annually in Markranstädt. The start of production is planned for 2024.

Siemens will play an active role in “establishing the new location”, Skeleton added. The cooperation is designed for the long term, and together the two companies want to push ahead with “next-generation supercapacitor production”. What the key data of this next generation is to be, however, is not mentioned. What is clear, however, is that they will also use Skeleton’s “Curved Graphene” materials to achieve a higher power density.

Skeleton’s supercapacitors are used in the automotive industry, in transport (such as trams), in power grids and in industry. Supercapacitors can absorb and release energy very quickly, are reliable and offer a long service life. However, they are less suitable than batteries for storing electrical energy for longer periods. In vehicles, they are therefore suitable for briefly absorbing large amounts of energy during recuperation and releasing it again during the following start-up.

“Supercapacitors are a key element in dramatically reducing emissions in the power generation, transportation and industrial sectors,” explains Taavi Madiberk, CEO and co-founder of Skeleton Technologies.

“The various applications of this technology provide enormous help in electrifying sectors of industry where electrification cannot be efficiently implemented with batteries,” says Michael Kellner, Parliamentary State Secretary at the BMWK. “Skeleton’s use of their own patented ‚curved graphene‘ material strengthens the European energy storage ecosystem and value chain as it is a technology developed in Europe to manufacture energy storage products in Europe. In the current context, not relying on imported toxic metals is becoming even more critical. Skeleton’s choice to open a new production facility in Saxony also underscores the attractiveness and importance of eastern Germany as a business location.”

For Skeleton Technologies, Markranstädt is already the second production site in Saxony: the Estonian company’s first plant is located in Großröhrsdorf.

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