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The Energy Storage Equipment Manufacturing Alliance (ESEMA), a newly-formed coalition made up of five players in the lead-acid battery industry, is focusing on elevating their presence in alternative battery chemistry markets like zinc and flow. In doing so, they aim to fend off the risk of insignificance due to their reduced size.
The members of ESEMA–Sorfin Yoshimura, MAC Engineering, CMWTEC Technologie, Digatron and Kustan–boast extensive experience in the lead-acid battery field and now share ownership of a joint venture, each holding a 20% stake.
Nick Hennen, Kustan’s Vice President, spoke to BEST regarding how well the alliance's members complement each other. He explained, “CMW specializes in vacuum filling, other filling procedures, and finishing lines, whereas MAC is adept at assembly equipment and robotic technologies. We supply electrolyte systems for all battery chemistries, including lead-acid. Meanwhile, Sorfin is primarily a materials company offering project management services, and Digatron is our go-to for power electronics. When combined, we possess roughly 70% of the required capabilities to design a complete manufacturing facility."
He added that the involvement of other companies on a per-project basis is a potential means of bridging the remaining capability gap.
ESEMA’s future plans involve identifying partnership entities to bolster visibility and address issues within the lead-acid industry. This is a task no single company can handle. As Hennen pointed out, the universally lead-acid background (with the possible exception of Digatron) allows the alliance to apply their expertise to growing opportunities in other chemical sectors, as opportunities in alternative battery chemistries grow.
Another significant factor for forming ESEMA is accessing funding opportunities. Hennen elaborated, “Most of the funding offered by entities such as the EU, the UK, or the United States Department of Energy necessitates a minimum collaboration threshold. Our companies individually are simply too small to qualify for funded projects. By creating ESEMA and aligning with strategic partners, we should be capable of pursuing these funded opportunities.”
ESEMA's inaugural project is already underway, geared towards the lead-acid battery market. However, Hennen chose not to reveal further specific details.
The formation of the alliance is not merely an offensive strategy, but a defensive one as well. Hennen explained, “As individual entities, we are relatively healthy. But as small business owners, we foresee a potential industry consolidation on the horizon. If we fail to collaborate, larger competitors, whether from the lithium or lead-acid sectors, might render us irrelevant.”
In the same vein, Scott Fink, President of Sorfin Yoshimura, added, "We envision our organisations, having prospered in the lead battery space, to diversify, much like our clientele, the battery end-users. Shifting from being solely lead-acid battery manufacturers to becoming holistic energy storage providers, offering a range of solutions tailored to customer requirements.”
ESEMA aims to provide goods and services for any battery chemistry type in line with their client's evolution and seize potential opportunities in new sectors. Fink posits that demand for energy storage solutions (lead being chief among them) will continue to remain strong for several decades.
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