PRESS RELEASE : Further expansion in the bus sector: AKASOL concludes long-term framework agreement in the mid-double-digit million euro range with the largest Turkish commercial vehicle manufacturer

 
 DGAP-News: AKASOL AG / Key word(s): Expansion 
Further expansion in the bus sector: AKASOL concludes long-term framework 
agreement in the mid-double-digit million euro range with the largest 
Turkish commercial vehicle manufacturer 
 
2020-12-10 / 08:30 
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. 
 
*Further expansion in the bus sector: AKASOL concludes long-term framework 
agreement in the mid-double-digit million euro range with the largest 
Turkish commercial vehicle manufacturer* 
 
? *Largest Turkish manufacturer of buses and commercial vehicles places 
order to supply battery systems for new electric bus * 
 
? *Agreement to deliver high-energy battery systems from 2021 to 2025* 
 
? *Order volume in the mid-double-digit million euro range* 
 
? *Important entry into promising Turkish market* 
 
Darmstadt, Germany, December 10, 2020 - AKASOL AG ("AKASOL"; the "Company"; 
ISIN DE000A2JNWZ9), a leading German developer and manufacturer of 
high-performance and high-energy lithium-ion battery systems as well as a 
provider of Turnkey Solutions, has signed a strategically important 
framework agreement with Turkey's largest commercial vehicle manufacturer. 
The total volume of the agreement is in the mid-double-digit million euro 
range. From 2021 to 2025, the Company will supply the second and third 
generation of its high-energy battery systems for one existing and one new 
bus type manufactured by the customer, thereby expanding its customer 
portfolio. 
 
"As Europe's leading manufacturer of battery systems, we are proud to have 
prevailed against strong European and Chinese competition in the commercial 
vehicle sector while demonstrating that our technologically leading battery 
systems are competitive even in cost-sensitive markets," AKASOL CEO Sven 
Schulz said. Under the new framework agreement, AKASOL will not only expand 
its customer base to include a strategically important partner from the 
Middle East but will also strengthen its market share in the sector for 
electric buses. As the largest Turkish manufacturer of commercial vehicles 
and buses, AKASOL's new customer has a workforce of more than 3,000 
employees and produces some 12,000 vehicles per year, most of them sold on 
the markets in Asia and Eastern Europe. By commissioning AKASOL, the company 
intends to consistently expand its electrification strategy in the bus 
sector in the coming years: Following its market launch of the first 
electric bus in its company history in 2019, the customer will now launch 
another model with an electric drivetrain. 
 
AKASOL will initially supply the second generation of its AKASystem 15 OEM 
50 PRC-type, high-performance/high-energy battery systems for the new 
electric bus, which is set to launch in autumn 2021. Production of the 
battery systems will begin in the first quarter of 2021 at AKASOL's serial 
production facility in Langen, Germany. The customer will also equip all of 
the buses it produces from 2023 with AKASOL's third generation of battery 
systems. Summing up the significance of these moves, Sven Schulz pointed 
out: "The fact that the framework agreement already includes the transition 
to our new ultra-high-energy battery system is a strong vote of confidence 
in our extensive expertise in the field of high-performance Li-ion 
batteries. It also shows that another customer with operations worldwide now 
considers us a strategically reliable partner for the rapid electrification 
of its portfolio." Along with the corresponding production capacities for 
serial production of high-performance battery systems, AKASOL has also 
demonstrated its know-how and competencies in the field of eMobility in 
recent years by concluding successful and long-term cooperation arrangements 
with major worldwide operating commercial vehicle manufacturers. 
 
"Since our serial production began, we have already equipped more than 2,500 
commercial vehicle applications with our battery systems and can tap into 
very deep and broad expertise in this field," Schulz emphasized. With the 
commissioning of its new Gigafactory 1 at the new AKASOL campus in 
Darmstadt, Germany, the Company will also have a further 2.5 GWh of 
production capacity available beginning next year. "Depending on existing 
and new customers' requirements, this can be doubled, so we are also in a 
position to produce reliably, quickly and as needed." 
 
Regarding the Turkish market, it is becoming increasingly important to 
AKASOL, Schulz points out. The Company delivered prototypes to another 
leading commercial vehicle manufacturer in Turkey just last year and is 
currently negotiating an expansion in the cooperation arrangement. "For us, 
the framework agreement with the Turkish bus and commercial vehicle 
manufacturer is an important step into the Asian and Eastern European 
region, where the trend toward electrification is gathering speed," Schulz 
said. This could also lead to future cross-selling potentials if the 
customer decides to electrify additional segments of its product portfolio. 
 
*Contact, Investor Relations:* 
 
AKASOL AG 
Isabel Heinen 
Telephone: [phone] 
e-mail: [e-mail] 
 
*Contact, Corporate Communications: * 
 
AKASOL AG 
Daria Hassan 
Telephone: [phone] 251 
e-mail: [e-mail] 
 
*About AKASOL * 
 
AKASOL is a leading German developer and manufacturer of high-energy and 
high-performance lithium-ion battery systems for use in buses, commercial 
vehicles, rail vehicles and industrial vehicles, as well as in ships and 
boats. With 30 years of experience, AKASOL is a pioneer in the development 
and manufacture of lithium-ion battery systems for commercial applications. 
Shares of AKASOL AG stock have been traded on the Prime Standard segment of 
the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since June 29, 2018. 
 
The company operates a production plant in Langen (in the German state of 
Hesse) with a production capacity of up to 800 MWh per year. Based on 
information available to AKASOL, this is Europe's largest facility for the 
production of lithium-ion battery systems for use in commercial vehicles: 
From 2020 onwards, each year, it will be able to produce battery systems for 
up to 3,000 fully electric buses, or for up to 6,000 medium-sized commercial 
vehicles, depending on the battery size. With the Gigafactory 1 at the new 
headquarters in Darmstadt, the company will have additional 2.5 GWh of 
production capacity available starting next year, which will be expanded to 
up to 5 GWh in 2023. 
 
AKASOL systems are manufactured to the industry standards of leading OEM 
customers. Its current customers include two of the world's leading 
manufacturers of commercial vehicles, Alstom, Bombardier, Rolls-Royce Power 
Systems (MTU Friedrichshafen) and many more. The AKASOL product portfolio is 
technology independent. This way, working on the basis of individual 
customer requirements, the Company can use the best battery cells and the 
best battery chemistry. 
 
*DISCLAIMER * 
 
Statements contained herein could be deemed to constitute what are referred 
to as "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements are 
identifiable by the use of words such as "could," "will," "should," "plans," 
"expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," "intends," "envisages," 
"aims" or the negative form of these terms, or corresponding modifications 
and comparable terms. 
 
Based on current expectations, forward-looking statements involve a number 
of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors as a consequence 
of which actual results, degrees of capacity utilization, developments and 
successes achieved by the Group, or on the part of the branch of industry in 
which it operates, might turn out to be materially different from the 
results contained or implied herein. The faith placed in forward-looking 
statements should not be unreasonably high. The Group will not update or 
review any forward-looking statements published herein in light of new 
information, future events or for any other reason. 
 
2020-12-10 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a 
service of EQS Group AG. 
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. 
 
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Archive at www.dgap.de 
Language:    English 
Company:     AKASOL AG 
             Kleyerstraße 20 
             64295 Darmstadt 
             Germany 
Phone:       [phone] 
E-mail:      [e-mail] 
Internet:    www.akasol.com 
ISIN:        DE000A2JNWZ9 
WKN:         A2JNWZ 
Listed:      Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated 
             Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Munich, 
             Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange 
EQS News ID: 1154038 
 
End of News DGAP News Service 
 
1154038 2020-12-10 
 
 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 10, 2020 02:30 ET (07:30 GMT)