$5.2 Million Financing Round for Repairable Battery Maker
Bordeaux, France
A French company producing e-bike batteries that can be repaired in less than 10 minutes has raised €3.3 million (A$5.2 million) in a new financing round.
The company, Gouach, plans to use the funds to boost its team of 15 people and market its eco-friendly battery to fleet operators and manufacturers in the micromobility sector.
According to an article in Bike Europe, Gouach hopes its battery will reduce the volume of electronic waste and lower the carbon footprint of micromobility batteries by 70%.
Its battery is currently being tested by compatriot, Pony, which is the only French e-bike and scooter share service provider offering self-service high-end equipment.
Gouach has recently emerged from 18 months of research, development and obtaining certifications.
Based on a study of hundreds of end-of-life batteries and showing that almost 80% of the components were still in perfect working order, Gouach founders Alexandre Vallette, Maxime Agor and Maël Primet developed a patented battery design that allows defective components to be replaced easily and safely.
Gouach says the battery will also foster a circular economy because it can be repaired locally, helping to create local jobs and fight programmed obsolescence.
“Current shortages confirm it: business models based on obsolescence have no future in a world whose reserves are not, ultimately, inexhaustible,” Gouach CEO Alexandre Vallette says in the Bike Europe article.
“Our goal is to build and market on a large scale the very first electric battery for bicycles and scooters that can be fully repaired in less than 10 minutes.”
He says the size of the funding round, led by Parisian venture capital fund Breega, is a strong signal that “a profound change is underway”.
The connected Gouach battery allows users to track the battery’s life cycle in real time through an app and optimise its use and receive alerts and accurate diagnosis in case of failure. Data on battery use can also be collected by operators at a recharging point.