Morrow completes NOK 230 million private placement

Morrow, a Norwegian company with the ambition to manufacture the world's most cost-effective and sustainable battery cells, today announces a private placement to finance its next phase, which includes the construction of an innovation centre in Grimstad, the detailed engineering of the pilot cell factory in Arendal, product development and prototyping of Manganese based LNMO cells and accelerated development of customer partnerships. The investment round was led by Danish pension fund PKA.

Morrow, established in 2020, has already reached important milestones during 2021: An agreement to rent the land for the factory in Eyde Energy Park in Arendal was settled before the summer and key recruitments from significant actors within battery production have their first days of work these days. Morrow has also entered into an agreement which secures supply of clean, renewable energy to the factory.

This week, a capital raise of NOK 230 million was successfully completed with Danish pension fund PKA as lead investor. Existing shareholders NOAH AS and Agder Energi Venture are also investing additional capital, while Arendal municipality invests NOK 10 million. In addition, Morrow has submitted grant applications to Norwegian grant authorities with a combined value equivalent to the private placement. Following the private placement, Morrow is valued at NOK 1.5 billion.

CEO of Morrow, Terje Andersen, comments: “We are pleased to bring in quality investors such as PKA, while existing shareholders also have participated in the new capital raise. The interest from the market is solid, and we have now fully financed our next development step.”

Morrow reiterates the production start in the fourth quarter of 2024, and the factory will have an annual capacity of 42 GWh battery cells when fully operational.

Andersen adds: “Europe's need for batteries is growing rapidly. Our ambition is to manufacture the world's greenest batteries, and during 2021 we have recruited some of the best talent in the industry. In addition, we have entered into important partner agreements with Elkem, Haldor Topsøe, ABB and Siemens, which means that we are on track to realize Morrow Giga Factory in the fourth quarter of 2024. The factory will be able to supply batteries for more than 700,000 electric vehicles annually, and with our unique mix of technology, low costs, access to renewable energy, and a short distance to Europe, we will become a leading battery producer in the coming decades.”

Morrow Giga Factory will be the world's most cost-effective battery factory. In addition to the gigafactory, Morrow will establish Morrow Industrialization Centre with a pilot cell factory in Arendal with a research centre in Grimstad. The area around Arendal and Grimstad is further developing the “The Norwegian Battery Coast”, with unique access to renewable energy, strong local commitment, and proximity to the European market. Morrow will employ more than 2.500 employees when the factory is fully operational.

Terje Andersen concludes: “To develop and manufacture sustainable batteries, you need highly skilled people and partners involved in all stages of the operation. Morrow has recruited a strong international team with members having backgrounds from leading companies such as Samsung, Audi, Hilti and Haldor Topsøe, bringing additional industrial competence and market knowledge to our company. In addition, we have entered into important agreements with Arendal municipality for plot area and access to the harbor.”

About Morrow

Morrow's ambition is to develop and manufacture the world's most cost-effective and sustainable battery cells. Based in Southern Norway, Morrow is currently in the process of establishing a factory that can produce 42 GWh battery cells every year. It uses 100 percent renewable hydropower to manufacture batteries with the lowest possible CO2 emissions.

The factory will be operational from the fourth quarter of 2024. To accelerate development and ensure the quality of products for important market segments, Morrow is building an industrialization center that supports the company's vision of making cost-effective and sustainable batteries. With these facilities, Morrow and the company's partners establish the "Battery Coast" - and a comprehensive ecosystem built around the value chain for batteries.

Morrow Batteries was founded in 2020 by strong and committed owners. The lead investors are Agder Energi Venture, a wholly owned subsidiary of Agder Energi, NOAH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Gjelsten Holding .