Skeleton raises €10m for graphene ultracapacitors

Skeleton says it is the only manufacturer to use graphene in their ultracapacitor cells. The company uses a patented material synthesised from inorganic compounds that has curved graphene layers allowing for better conductivity and higher surface area.

The addition of graphene has doubled the energy density and increased power density 5x, says Sketeon.

“Series B financing allows us to bring our graphene-based ultracapacitors to our increasing customer base,” says Skeleton CEO Taavi Madiberk, “we are perfectly positioned to take advantage of the growing market opportunity, especially in Europe where the only other manufacturer is Bolloré Group-backed Blue Solutions.”

“Elon Musk has predicted that ultracapacitors will be the future for electric vehicles, replacing batteries in the longer term. We will fulfill that prediction, starting with doubling the energy density of our current products to lead acid battery levels of 20 Wh/kg by 2017.”

Andrus Allikmae, CEO of lead investor Harju Elekter Group says: “We are convinced that ultracapacitor-based solutions will increasingly be used in electrotechnical and manufacturing automation applications for energy storage, control and high-power fast switching.”

Last month, Skeleton announced a deal to supply ultracapacitors to the European Space Agency.

Ultracapacitors can deliver over 1 million life cycles and recharge in less than a few seconds.

It is predicted that the ultracapacitor market for electrical engineering will generate $3.5 billion in revenue in 2020.

Based in Estonia and Germany, Skeleton Technologies currently has 42 employees and plans to increase the headcount with a focus on expanding the mid-scale Estonian manufacturing facilities and acceleration plans for mass manufacturing in Saxony, Germany. Skeleton Technologies has now raised a total of €13.7 million.

Skeleton has two subsidiaries: Skeleton Technologies GmbH located in Bautzen, Germany, which deals with manufacturing and sales; and Skeleton Technologies OÜ, located near Tallinn, Estonia, which handles R&D and pilot production.