Leclanché Establishes North American Subsidiary to Capitalize on Fast Growing U.S. and Canadian Energy Storage Market

YVERDON-LES-BAINS, Switzerland and DALLAS, April 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Leclanché S.A. (SIX Swiss Exchange: LECN), the fully vertically integrated, battery energy storage system provider, has established a North American subsidiary headquartered in Dallas to capitalize on market opportunities in the United States and Canada.

The business is headed up by Bryan Urban, an energy industry executive with more than 25 years of experience in the power generation and energy infrastructure sectors in the Americas and Asia/Pacific.  Urban, who has been on the board of directors of Leclanché since 2013, is stepping off of the company's board to become executive vice president of Leclanché to lead the North American business. The company has also established an engineering and technology center in Anderson, Indiana.

The establishment of Leclanché's North American operations comes on the heels of the company receiving a USD 28.9 million (CHF 27.9 million) purchase order to deliver one of the world's largest stationary storage systems to Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) in Ontario.  This purchase order, covering the battery storage system and power conversion equipment for the project, is part of the previously announced USD 45.0 million project construction scope which will be managed by Leclanché. The company has partnered with Deltro Energy, which has the responsibility to design, procure and construct the site facilities, balance of plant and high voltage connections to the grid.

"We are fortunate to have Bryan Urban, who has served the company well in his capacity as a board member, to lead our efforts in capturing a significant portion of the expanding North American energy storage market," said Anil Srivastava, CEO, Leclanché.  "Bryan and his team were instrumental in securing the contract for the energy storage systems for the Ontario grid project, which we successfully won over several larger battery storage competitors."

"As a board member, I have been part of the transformation of Leclanché under Anil's leadership over the past two years from a relatively quiet, European-based manufacturer of high-performance batteries to a fully integrated, energy storage systems turnkey provider on a global scale," said Urban. "The North American market has now become a primary focus for our company and I am pleased to take on the leadership role of establishing a strong position here in this rapidly expanding business."

Other key personnel who have also joined the Leclanché North America team are:

• Thom Reddington, senior vice president operations (Anderson)
• Mark Albert, director of business development (Dallas)
• Jim Lowe, senior project manager (Anderson)

Urban had been managing partner at Silveron Capital Partners, a boutique investment banking and advisory firm he founded in 2006 that specialized in new project development and financing, M&A transactions and corporate restructurings for power and alternative energy companies.  Over his career, Urban has been instrumental in the development of over 9,000 MW of power generation; led over $6 billion in project and corporate financings in both conventional and alternative energy sectors; and has been involved in numerous energy infrastructure projects on a strategic and deal execution basis.

"We are assembling a strong management team here in North American and will be adding several other key people over the next several months in response to the growing interest in our stationary and mobile battery energy storage solutions.  Both Thom and Mark bring strong expertise and experience to Leclanché with Thom well-versed in the mobility market and Mark in the stationary storage sector," said Urban. 

"We will be looking to leverage our technology expertise in the grid ancillary services market to bid on projects that are being planned across the U.S. and Canada.  We will also be introducing our e-battery technology and capabilities to mass transportation authorities throughout North America, and our micro-grid solutions across the Caribbean and in certain Central and South American locations."

Reddington is a highly experienced senior manager and engineer with nearly four decades of global experience in the automotive and electric vehicle battery markets. He joins Leclanché after two years as general manager and chief operating officer of Altair Nanotechnologies. Previously, he served as VP of operations and engineering at Light Engineering; president of Redcon, a program management consulting firm; manager, continuous process improvement, Ener 1; and global director of ignition product line, Delphi Automotive Systems. Reddington is also an adjunct professor for international business at Marian University/Anderson University.

Albert is a strategic and financial executive with more than 20 years of renewable energy marketing and development experience. Prior to joining Leclanché, he served as consultant and owner of MHA Energy Development Group, focusing on solar project development and transmission system expansion. Previously, he served as vice president, development for geothermal power development firm Gradient Resources. Other experience includes Patua Geothermal Project as project manager; Aurora Geothermal Project as project manager; and Northern States Power Company (now Xcel Energy) as system designer.

About Leclanché
Leclanché is a fully vertically integrated battery energy storage solution provider. It delivers a wide range of turnkey energy storage solutions for homes, small offices, large industries, electricity grids, as well as hybridization for mass transport systems such as bus fleets and ferries. Established in 1909, Leclanché has been a reliable partner for battery energy storage solutions for over 100 years. Founded in the tradition of Georges Leclanché, the inventor of the dry cell battery, Leclanché today has a rich portfolio of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) that include bespoke battery systems from industry leading lithium-ion solutions.

SOURCE Leclanche