Fast-charging tech start-up Nyobolt has raised $30 million (£22.6m) in funding from venture capital firms and partners such as truck maker Scania to accelerate its growth.
The Cambridgeshire-based firm, which last year made $9m (£6.8m) in revenue, said it will use the investment to grow its team and develop its energy storage and EV charging technologies.
Last year it hit the headlines when its prototype electric car – a 470bhp, 1246kg reworking of the original Lotus Elise – completed a 10-80% charge on a 350kW connection in just 4min 37sec – around twice as quick as the fastest-charging models on sale today.
The firm said the prototype has completed 4000 fast-charge cycles, equivalent to around 600,000 miles of travel, and retains more than 80% of its usable battery capacity.
However, much of Nyobolt’s business comes from outside the automotive industry. One of its partners in the new funding round is Japanese metal kiln manufacturer Takasago Industry, for example.
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has also been a key driver of Nyobolt’s growth, with the need for especially large redundant power supplies at data centres generating a market for its industrial battery packs.
Nyobolt added that it has now secured contracts worth $150m (£113m), setting it up to triple its annual revenues.
“The world is experiencing an unprecedented demand for power, not only to decarbonise heavy industries but to provide enough resources to handle the surge in AI infrastructure,” said Nyobolt co-founder and CEO Sai Shivareddy.
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