May 19, 2023: Morrow Batteries said on May 12 it had agreed a loan deal of NOK567 million ($53 million) to support development of its battery cells projects in Norway.
Morrow said the loan will finance the continued build-up of its business in Arendal and Grimstad in the south of the country.
The convertible loan is provided by the company’s four main shareholders Å Energi, Maj Invest, Siemens Financial Services and ABB, pro rata to their current ownership.
All other shareholders will be invited to participate in a similar loan of NOK140 million on the same conditions.
CEO Lars Christian Bacher said the company is producing its first batteries for customer qualification and research is “at full speed”.
Morrow has completed construction of its research center in Grimstad where its next-generation battery tech is developed.
Test production is ongoing in South Korea while the construction of the Morrow Cell Factory in Arendal is underway, with production set to start in 2024.
The investment decision to start on the next facility — the Eyde 1 14GWh per annum batteries production plant — will be taken in the first half of 2024.
Morrow has said previously that its batteries will use LNMO cathode material, which it says eliminates the need for cobalt, reduces the use of nickel and lithium and maximizes use of “readily available manganese”.
On March 20, the company said it had agreed a long-term batteries supply agreement with BESS developer Eldrift.
The Norwegian firms said a non-binding offtake agreement committed Eldrift to buying 1.5GWh of Morrow’s batteries starting in 2024, when Morrow starts industrial-scale production at its gigafactory.