Mercedes-backed battery maker ProLogium says weighing 2022 IPO

[TAIPEI] ProLogium Technology, the Mercedes Benz-backed solid-state battery developer, is weighing an initial public offering either later this year or next, chief executive officer Vincent Yang said.

The Taiwanese company is considering listing in the US or Europe and may also raise funds in a separate round before any IPO, Yang said in an interview.

"We have a very clear plan to go public. We have a clear milestone and goal, and how much money we need to raise," Yang said, declining to elaborate.

ProLogium would join a rash of other battery makers seeking to unlock value for shareholders via a stock exchange listing. South Korea's LG Energy Solution raised US$10.7 billion in January while China's CALB is said to be planning a US$1.5 billion debut in Hong Kong.

Great Wall Motor's battery spin off SVolt Energy Technology has also indicated an interest.

The world's largest maker of cells for electric cars, Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), listed in 2018 and went on to cement its status by producing mainstream lithium-ion EV batteries.

CATL is also developing solid-state batteries, widely believed to be safer and more stable than liquid lithium-ion batteries, but isn't said to be as advanced as ProLogium in terms of mass production.

Samsung SDI is also starting construction of a solid-state battery pilot line and LG is set to unveil its offering later this decade, a sign more top-tier producers are actively pursuing the development of new-generation cells, according to Wood Mackenzie. Alternative cell technology is also looking more attractive as the cost of the raw materials used in lithium-ion batteries soars.

ProLogium, founded in 2006, promotes itself as being the first to make a breakthrough in the years-long quest to take next-generation batteries to a level of maturity that they're ready for mass production. It says its first solid-state battery production line will be complete by the end of the year.

Yang said a pre-IPO funding round may raise more than the US$326 million ProLogium secured last year from investors including Primavera Capital Group and SoftBank China Venture Capital.

The money is needed to expand production capacity, he said. Mercedes-Benz Group and ProLogium unveiled a technology cooperation agreement to develop EV cells earlier this year.

The German auto giant made a "high double-digit million euro investment" and took a seat on the board, the company said at the time. Solid-state battery rival California-based QuantumScape Corp. has partnered with Volkswagen AG.

"ProLogium is likely to have broken through the technical challenges of deploying lithium metal negative electrodes and therefore I believe it's well on its way to mass production," Jane Hsu, an EV market analyst at Researcher & Research, said. BLOOMBERG