Leclanché Selected as Part of Six Innovative Electric Vehicle Battery Projects for Funding under the EU Innovation Fund 24 Battery call

Leclanché Selected as Part of Six Innovative Electric Vehicle Battery Projects for Funding under the EU Innovation Fund 24 Battery call

• Leclanché selected for EU Innovation Fund grant as part of an €852 million investment supporting six pioneering EV battery manufacturing projects across Europe.
• The Gigafactory planned at Leclanché’s site in Willstätt, Germany, on the company’s existing production site, recognised as a high-quality project after evaluation by independent experts.
• Part of a strategic EU initiative to support clean, competitive battery production and reduce reliance on imports.
• Next step: preparation of grant data and annexes, with grant agreement to be signed with CINEA in Q3 2025.

YVERDON-LES-BAINS, Switzerland, 7^th July, 2025 – In a release published on Friday 4^th of July, the European Commission announced that six pioneering electric vehicle (EV) battery cell manufacturing projects, including LECLANCHE GmbH, will receive a total of €852 million in grants from the Innovation Fund. These grants aim to accelerate the growth of and investment in the EU's battery manufacturing industry providing support on capital and operational expenditures. They were selected from 14 proposals submitted by eight countries.

Leclanché submitted a project for the expansion of the Willstätt plant, Germany, scaling the water based and PFAS free manufacturing of cells. The project was recognised as a high-quality proposal in a fiercely competitive call, following an evaluation by an international panel of independent experts.  It allows for the scaling of a low carbon cell manufacturing technology that removes PFAS materials from the lithium-ion cells.

"This selection marks a major milestone for Leclanché and confirms the strategic importance of our technology and local presence in Europe. It also highlights the maturity of our project, as only the most advanced proposals were selected," said Pierre Blanc, CEO of Leclanché. "With the selection of our project for funding under the Innovation Fund call, our water based PFAS free technology has been recognised as innovative and technologically mature."

The selected projects drive innovation in EV battery cell production through the deployment of sustainable manufacturing techniques, processes, and technologies. They represent strategic investments that will drive Europe’s transition to a clean, competitive, and resilient industrial base.

The next step for Leclanché will be the finalization and signature of its grant agreement with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), expected in the third quarter of 2025.  The grant will be in support of funding provided by the company.  The start of the project is expected in January 2026, once the final agreements are signed and the overall funding provided by the company is in place.

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About Leclanché

Leclanché is a world leading provider of low-carbon footprint energy storage solutions based on lithium-ion cell technology. Established in 1909 in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, Leclanché’s history and heritage is rooted in battery and energy storage innovation. The company’s Swiss culture for precision and quality, together with its production facilities in Germany, make Leclanché the partner of choice for companies seeking the very best in battery performance and who are pioneering positive changes in how energy is produced, distributed and consumed around the world. Leclanché is organised into three business units: energy storage solutions, e-Mobility solutions and specialty battery systems. The company currently employs over 350 people with representative offices in eight countries around the world. 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.

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