Exro Technologies Inc (CVE:EXRO) (OTC:EXROF) (FRA:1O2), a power electronics company, announced Tuesday that it has expanded its strategic partnership with SEA Electric Pty Ltd to accelerate development of its battery control system (BCS).
The expanded strategic collaboration agreement includes SEA Electric providing Exro with two electric delivery vans to showcase Exro's battery control system and facilitate second-life battery storage by the second half of 2021. With a focus on utilizing electric truck batteries for energy storage applications, Exro and SEA will co-develop the BCS for operational validation.
As part of the agreement, Exro will invest US$5 million into SEA Electric by subscribing for 124,380 Series A preferred shares at a price of US $40.20 per share. The preferred shares are convertible into common shares of SEA and automatically do so under certain conditions, including SEA going public.
READ: Exro Technologies wraps up in-house testing of EV Coil Driver, will ship to collaborator Potencia on Friday
The agreement expands on the companies’ initial plans to commercialize the Exro Coil Driver in SEA's electric trucks to now include a Class 8 electric truck for the Canadian market. The company has set a volume production target of a minimum of 400 trucks by the second-year post validation. The company and SEA Electric will co-demonstrate the Exro-enhanced electric fleet trucks in the North American market by the second half of 2021, the company said.
SEA Electric is partnered with commercial vehicle OEM's, dealers and upfitters to deliver a new range of zero-emissions trucks and is on schedule to deliver more than 1,000 electric vehicles this year. Looking ahead, the company is forecasted to have more than 15,000 vehicles on the road by the end of 2023.
"Exro's technology will continue to open new opportunities with applications that have cost-prohibitive components on the market today,” SEA Electric CEO Tony Fairweather said in a statement. "We are excited to expand our partnership with Exro and help to optimize the utilization of batteries in a second-life application."
This widened collaboration will significantly accelerate development of Exro's BCS and identify a key end of first-life battery source, the company said. It will also highlight a true example of the circular economy and how Exro can impact sustainability and energy consumption by extending batteries to a second life.
"This is a big deal for Exro, a major catalyst for Exro toward our vision of becoming a leader in power electronics for mobility and energy management,” Exro CEO Sue Ozdemir said. "I am very pleased to be expanding our partnership with SEA Electric to further demonstrate the synergy our technology has from commercial trucks to energy storage."
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel