Estonia, 2015-06-03 08:00 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- At its 2 June 2015 meeting, the Supervisory Board of AS Harju Elekter decided to approve a strategic investment in Skeleton Technologies Group OÜ, a company developing and manufacturing ultracapacitors, by acquiring a 10% holding in the company. According to the agreement and based on the fact that the transaction is not relevant for the purpose of the Stock Exchange Rules, the parties will not disclose the value of the transaction.
AS Harju Elekter sees the attractiveness of the given innovative investment in both, an increase of its value as well as the possible participation of the company in the development, production and use of the modular systems of ultra-capacitors in the management and switching systems.
Over the last 8 years, the market of ultracapacitors has increased 30% per year and the respective storage and switching solutions are in the focus in terms of both their energy efficiency as well as renewable energy developments. Ultracapacitors are environmentally-friendly and cost-efficient energy storage devices, which are suitable for storing and discharging large amounts of energy in a short period of time. Ultracapacitors can survive more than a million charge and discharge cycles at the temperatures from -40 °C to +65 °C and can achieve the power density of an above 60 kW/kg, which exceeds several times the power of batteries.
Skeleton started to develop the production of ultracapacitors, devised and patented by the Estonian scientists, in 2009 and has reached a technological level, which enables to hold notably more power in smaller dimensions compared to the products offered at the market. The technology is protected with 5 patent families, covering the entire product, starting from the materials used up to the manufacturing technology. Skeleton’s customer portfolio includes several leading automotive companies, developers of electric energy and renewable energy solutions as well as the European Space Agency.
Harju Elekter is the leading MV/LV electrical and engineering devices producer in the Baltic States as well as well-known and respected company in Scandinavia. Harju Elekter Group includes manufacturers of electrical equipment in Estonia, Finland and Lithuania: AS Harju Elekter Elektrotehnika (100%), Satmatic Oy (100%), Finnkumu Oy (100%) and Rifas UAB (100%), as well as the telecommunications products manufacturer AS Harju Elekter Teletehnika (100%) in Estonia. In addition, AS Harju Elekter has financial investments in the Latvian electrical equipment sales company SIA Energokomplekss (14%) and in the Finnish publicly listed company PKC Group Oyj (5%).
The transaction does not constitute a transaction between related parties within the meaning of NASDAQ Tallinn’s Rules and Regulations.
Andres Allikmäe
Managing Director/CEO
+372 674 7400
Additional information: Andres Allikmäe, Managing Director of AS Harju Elekter; Endel Palla, Chairman of the Supervisory Board (+372 674 7400).
Prepared by:
Moonika Vetevool
Corporate communication and investor relations manager
+372 671 2761