A London-based battery storage company founded by a former Aston Martin CEO and Nissan COO has acquired Oxford University spinout Brill Power.
Palmer Energy Technology Limited (PETL), founded by Dr Andy Palmer, alongside Wei Shao, designs stationary battery systems built to automotive engineering standards.
Palmer recently left his role as chair of PodPoint, which was snapped up by Paris-based EDF in a 拢10.6m deal two months ago, four years on from its IPO when it was valued at 拢350m.聽
Meanwhile, Brill Power is known for its advanced battery management systems which use cell-level control and active balancing to improve safety and extend service life.聽
PETL will integrate the company鈥檚 electronics across its automotive-grade battery storage systems immediately.
The deal, backed by a new 拢5m Series A investment, combines PETL鈥檚 large-scale energy storage expertise with Brill Power鈥檚 control software, which optimises performance by drawing the right amount of current from each individual cell depending on its condition.
FTSE 250 constituent FirstGroup plc, the UK transport operator and a PETL customer invested in the funding round through its dedicated FirstGroup Energy Limited arm and will take a seat on the London firm鈥檚 board.聽
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Barclays Climate Ventures and the University of Oxford have also backed the business.
鈥淧ETL鈥檚 acquisition of Brill Power enables us to embed the Brill software in all of our systems, instantly giving PETL a leading position in the space to serve customers such as FirstGroup,鈥� said Palmer, who serves as CEO of the business he founded.
鈥淲ith buses at the forefront of the transition to electric vehicles and net zero transportation, I鈥檓 delighted to welcome investment from FirstGroup, as well as Barclays and Oxford University, to advance development of next generation control systems.聽
鈥淭his will allow us to accelerate our business and give the UK a leading position in BESS technology.鈥�
Faizan Muhammad, investment director at FirstGroup plc, added: 鈥淭his investment continues our strategy of backing new and innovative companies aimed at supporting our long-term public commitment of achieving a zero emission fleet by 2035.聽
鈥淧ETL, along with its acquisition of Brill Power, will unlock innovative energy procurement solutions whilst providing second life use cases when batteries are taken off electric buses.鈥�
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