Rimac Technology, a sister company of the Bugatti Rimac hypercar company, and a growing supplier of electric vehicle technology to major automakers, is ready to expand into the battery-based energy storage business.
Rimac Technology on Thursday announced the new division Rimac Energy, which is headed by Wasim Sarwar and tasked with developing and manufacturing energy storage systems, primarily for large-scale applications like those used by utility and other industrial firms.
The company is also looking at solutions for EV charging stations, where batteries can supplement the grid during peak use, known as battery buffered charging.
Home storage solutions, similar to Tesla's Powerwall, weren't mentioned.
Rimac Energy will be able to leverage the EV battery technology of Rimac Technology to develop energy storage systems with some impressive specifications. According to the company, its battery design reduces efficiency losses by up to 50% while decreasing the physical size by up to 40% compared to currently available rival systems. Rimac Energy also claims improved cycle life and competitive material and installation costs.
More details on the energy storage systems will be announced later this year. Rimac Energy will also start testing its first pilot systems with customers this year. High-volume production (10 gigawatt-hours annually) is expected to start in 2025, at main campus of parent company Rimac Group, located near Zagreb, Croatia.
"There is an urgent need for clean energy infrastructure to support the integration of renewable energy sources into the grid by providing storage and balancing capabilities,” Mate Rimac, CEO of Rimac Group, said in a statement. “Given our head start in EV technology and dedication to sustainability, this path feels like a seamless progression for us.”
