Versarien’s debt-to-equity swap helps Spanish subsidiary secure grant

Versarien’s Spanish subsidiary Gnanomat has been awarded an €804,000 (£660,000) grant to finance a project relating to next generation energy storage devices.

Earlier this year, Versarien had converted a €1.46m (£1.21m) debt into shares to allow Gnanomat to apply for this grant. It had previously been unable to because of debt restriction rules.

The grant covers 70% of Gnanomat’s anticipated costs for a 24-month project to elevate the technology readiness level of GnanoCaps, an eco-friendly energy storage device, that uses Gnanomat’s proprietary hybrid nanomaterials platform to create optimised energy storage solutions.

Versarien chief executive Dr Stephen Hodge said: “Grant income is key to derisking R&D and unlocking the potential in Versarien’s technologies.

“With GnanoCaps we have an energy storage technology that offers significant performance advantages over currently available solutions and has wide ranging applications.

“I believe there is a significant potential for GnanoCaps to play a role in a wide variety of energy storage applications from next-generation electric vehicles to those in industrial and infrastructure areas, particularly those in ATEX (explosive atmospheres) environments.”

The Grant is expected to be received as one single payment before the end of 2024.