Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, 9 June 2015 – Swiss battery manufacturer Leclanché has been selected as a battery system supplier to the world’s largest battery operated ferryboat to be built by Danish shipbuilder Søby Shipyard Ltd. The ferry will be placed in service in June, 2017 to transportation of vehicles and passengers between island Ærø and the mainland in Denmark.

Leclanché is a joint partner in the project and will deliver a full-electric drive train to the ferry with its partner Visedo. The ferry shall be equipped with a 4.2 MWh battery system from Leclanché being the World’s largest ferry in terms of battery capacity. As one of the Top 5 projects in the EU Horizon 2020 initiative, a program with a total budget of 21 million euros, this initiative is part of the Danish Natura project, which guarantees local people green transportation in these areas.

The ferry will be state-of-the-art design and achieve superior efficiency thanks to optimized weight and hull shape and an electric propulsion equipment. CO2 emissions will be reduced by 2000 tons and NOx by 41.5 tons per year compared with an existing diesel ferry. The silent electric motors will also reduce emitted noise level and the new vessel will reduce wake waves right behind the ferry by 60-70% which allows navigation in the shallow Danish Natura areas. A record breaking charging power of up to 4 MW allows short port stays and efficient operation.

Anil Srivastava, CEO of Leclanché, commented: «We are very excited to be involved in this ground-breaking project as a battery supplier. I am delighted to see Ærø Island utilizing the
frontline technology and EU supporting such a pioneering activity. This new contract, following the confirmation of the large order for the Project Graciosa, gives also further validation of Leclanché’s strong execution of its business plan and growth strategy».

Martti Ukkonen, EVP of Mobile Storage Systems at Leclanché, added: «This project is a breakthrough in the recently introduced mobile storage business. The novel combination of a lithium-ion battery storage system and an electric drive train provided by Leclanché and Visedo has proven to be a true asset in the mobile system market, and not only in marine segment. We are extremely satisfied with our strategic alliance with Visedo».

Earlier on 4 May, 2015 Leclanché’s already announced a Strategic Cooperation Agreement with Visedo Oy. The Finnish ground-breaking innovative electric drive train specialist was approved as leading partner in the project, preferred to an industry giant Siemens. The market for marine electric vessels is expected to grow from $2.6 billion to $6.3 billion by 2023 due to both emission regulations and tremendous potential of fuel savings.

For further information
Claude-Olivier Rochat, Voxia communication – Mobile +41 (0)79 203 52 19
co.rochat@voxia.ch
Rohan Sant, Voxia communication – Mobile +41 (0)79 120 00 28
rohan.sant@voxia.ch

About Leclanché

Headquartered in Switzerland, Leclanché SA is a leading provider of high-quality energy storage solutions designed to accelerate our progress towards a clean energy future. Leclanché’s history and heritage is rooted in over 100 years of battery and energy storage innovation and the Company is a trusted provider of energy storage solutions globally. This coupled with the Company’s culture of German engineering and Swiss precision and quality, continues to make Leclanché the partner of choice for both disruptors, established companies and governments who are pioneering positive changes in how energy is produced, distributed and consumed around the world. The energy transition is being driven primarily by changes in the management of our electricity networks and the electrification of transport, and these two end markets form the backbone of our strategy and business model. Leclanché is at the heart of the convergence of the electrification of transport and the changes in the distribution network. Leclanché is the only listed pure play energy storage company in the world, organised along three business units: stationary storage solutions, e-Transport solutions and specialty batteries systems. Leclanché is listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange (SIX: LECN).

SIX Swiss Exchange: ticker symbol LECN | ISIN CH 011 030 311 9

Disclaimer

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to Leclanché’s business, which can be identified by terminology such as “strategic”, “proposes”, “to introduce”, “will”, “planned”, “expected”, “commitment”, “expects”, “set”, “preparing”, “plans”, “estimates”, “aims”, “would”, “potential”, “awaiting”, “estimated”, “proposal”, or similar expressions, or by expressed or implied discussions regarding the ramp up of Leclanché’s production capacity, potential applications for existing products, or regarding potential future revenues from any such products, or potential future sales or earnings of Leclanché or any of its business units. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of Leclanché regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee that Leclanché’s products will achieve any particular revenue levels. Nor can there be any guarantee that Leclanché, or any of the business units, will achieve any particular financial results.

Contacts Leclanché

Media Switzerland /Europe:

Thierry Meyer

T: +41 (0) 79 785 35 81

E-mail: tme@dynamicsgroup.ch

Media North America:

Henry Feintuch / Ashley Blas

T: +1-914-548-6924 / +1-509-494-4053

E-mail: leclanche@feintuchpr.com  

Media Germany:

Christoph Miller

T: +49 (0) 711 947 670

E-mail: leclanche@sympra.de

Investor Contacts:

Anil Srivastava / Hubert Angleys

T: +41 (0) 24 424 65 00

E-mail: invest.leclanche@leclanche.com