The European Investment Bank (EIB) and GDI have signed an agreement on a quasi-equity loan worth €20 million to develop GDI`s next generation silicon anode technology to power electric vehicles and decrease dependency on graphite.
The agreement is supported by the InvestEU programme, which aims to trigger more than €372 billion in additional investment in new technologies until 2027.
GDI is a US-company, with an affiliate in the Netherlands that plans to produce it`s silicon anode at industrial scale in Germany. To scale up production quickly after the development phase, the company has selected an industrial site with a glass-coating production facility owned by AGC Glass Europe, a leading tier one supplier to European Auto OEMs. The AGC factory, in Lauenförde near Holzminden in Lower Saxony, will provide coating expertise, advanced manufacturing equipment, and know-how. One of Europe’s leading copper foil companies, Schlenk SE, will supply industrial scaled copper foil.
This alliance of experienced European industrial companies with a US-based technology scale-up company demonstrates the attractiveness of the European market to emerging US businesses.