Skeleton Technologies, an Estonia-based ultracapacitor developer backed by electrical equipment maker Harju Elekter, has agreed €51m ($61m) of funding from Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the Free State of Saxony.
Founded in 2009, Skeleton is developing graphene-based ultracapacitor cells, modules and systems used for energy storage.
The company’s ultracapacitor products are used by companies operating in sectors such as industrial manufacturing, renewable energy generation and the automotive industry.
The proceeds of the round will be used to support the development of production technology that will enable Skeleton to fully automate manufacturing at its factory located in the town of Großröhrsdorf.
Taavi Madiberk, co-founder and chief executive of Skeleton, said: “The next stage of our production will see an implementation of fully automated Industry 4.0 manufacturing techniques – a first-of-its-kind in the ultracapacitor industry. Coupled with our curved graphene material, we are able to dramatically decrease the cost of ultracapacitors.”
Skeleton closed a series D round that included Harju Elekter at €41.3m ($48.3m) in November 2020. The corporate was joined by European Institute of Innovation and Technology’s sustainability-focused investment vehicle, EIT InnoEnergy, as well as MM Grupp, FirstFloor Capital and unnamed individual investors.
FirstFloor Capital led a $14.6m series C round for the company in 2016 that also featured Harju Elekter and Up Invest. Harju Elekter acquired a 10% stake in Skeleton through leading a $11m series B round in 2015 also backed by Up Invest, which had led its $5.2m series A round the previous year.