Leclanché SA: Leclanché, eCAMION and SGEM to Build and Operate Network of 34 Electric Vehicle Fast-Charging Stations Along Trans-Canada Highway Donnerstag, 20. Juli 2017 - 08:11

Leclanché SA / Key word(s): Market launch/Incoming Orders
Leclanché SA: Leclanché, eCAMION and SGEM to Build and Operate Network of 34
Electric Vehicle Fast-Charging Stations Along Trans-Canada Highway

20-Jul-2017 / 07:11 CET/CEST
Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 KR

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Leclanché, eCAMION and SGEM to Build and Operate Network of 34 Electric
Vehicle Fast-Charging Stations Along Trans-Canada Highway

Natural Resources Canada to Provide Significant Funding for Initiative to
Boost Electric Vehicle Adoption Under Canadian Energy Innovation Program

TORONTO, DALLAS and YVERDON LES BAINS, Switzerland, July 20, 2017 - Canada's
electric vehicle industry is about to receive a major boost with the
announcement of an agreement between eCAMION, based in Toronto, Dallas-based
Leclanché North America, part of Switzerland's Leclanché SA (SIX: LECN) and
SGEM based in Geneva, to develop and install a network of 34 fast-charging
stations along the Trans-Canada Highway (TCH).

The project, designed to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs)
in Canada, entails an investment of CAD $17.3 million (USD $13.6 million)
and is being partially funded by a CAD $8.0 million (USD $6.2 million)
repayable contribution from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) under the
Canadian Energy Innovation Program.

This public private initiative will be supported by an investment from
eCAMION, Leclanché and SGEM.

Canada recognizes the key role electric vehicles will play in reducing
emissions from the transportation sector," said Jim Carr, Canada's Minister
of Natural Resources. "With more electric vehicles becoming available, we
want to make them an easy choice for Canadians. This strategic investment
brings us closer to having a national coast-to-coast network of electric
vehicle charging stations while growing our economy and creating good jobs
for Canada's middle-class."

FAST Charge Joint Venture Created to Manage EV Project
eCAMION and Leclanché have formed a Toronto-based joint venture, named FAST
ChargeTM Inc., to manage the TCH project and further expand the
implementation of EV charging systems across North America. Bryan Urban, EVP
of Leclanché North America, will serve as president and Himanshu Sudan CFO
of eCAMION will serve as CEO of the joint venture.

eCAMION is a privately-held provider of modular, smart energy storage
solutions that find innovative use in community storage, EV charging,
auxiliary power units, storage for renewable energy projects as well as in
custom applications.

Leclanché is one of the world's leading, vertically integrated, energy
storage solution providers. It delivers a wide range of energy storage
solutions for homes, small offices, industry, electricity grids, as well as
solutions for transport such as electric buses and marine applications.

SGEM is an independent power producer that develops, builds owns and
operates power generation assets including energy storage capabilities.

Project Designed to Overcome 'Range Anxiety'
Currently, most public EV charging stations operate at Level 2, requiring
about six to eight hours to charge a vehicle. The existing grid
infrastructure sometimes proves inadequate to support faster charging. This
makes it cumbersome for EV drivers to travel long distances contributing to
'range anxiety,' and is one of the biggest obstacles globally to EV
adoption.

The new system being developed by FAST Charge consists of an energy storage
system, using large-format lithium-ion batteries, along with multiple outlet
charging units that can be charge several EVs at once. This architecture
helps overcome the slow charge issue by acting as a buffer between the grid
and the vehicle and allowing EVs to be charged rapidly from the advanced
lithium ion batteries instead of directly but more slowly from the grid.
This will enable faster charging at Level 3 and higher, allowing EV drivers
to charge their vehicles in just 20 minutes.

"Our system will recharge the battery storage units during off-peak times at
considerable cost-savings and reduction in stress to the grid," said Bryan
Urban, EVP of Leclanché North America and president of FAST Charge.
"Vehicles will be able to power up during peak hours using off-peak energy
and continue on their journey in a relatively similar amount of time it
would take to fuel a fossil-fuel vehicle, grab a snack and visit a
bathroom."

At the core of each station will be FAST Charge's state-of-the-art, energy
storage system featuring advanced lithium-ion batteries with scalable
capacity that will draw and store energy from the grid for use by charging
units whenever required. Each station will have three charging units to
allow three vehicles to be charged simultaneously.

FAST Charge has already started work on the demonstration units with
significant funding to be provided by NRCan and a target completion date of
December 2017. Manufacturing is scheduled to get underway in the first
quarter of 2018 with installation of EV charging stations to be completed
through the remainder of 2018. The FAST Charge stations will be installed at
34 locations along the Trans-Canada Highway roadway connecting Ontario and
Manitoba Provinces - a total distance of approximately 3,000 kilometers or
1,860 miles with the stations spaced approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles)
apart.

"This is perhaps the largest infrastructure project for electrical vehicles
to be deployed at one time anywhere in the world," said Elad Barak, VP
business development of eCAMION. "We are pleased to collaborate with Natural
Resources Canada, Leclanché and SGEM to deliver a public infrastructure
improvement of this importance in terms of product innovation, environmental
benefits and bold policy initiative"

Environmental Benefits
Greater adoption of EVs for inter-urban travel will reduce the use of
carbon-intensive fuels for transportation, which currently generates nearly
a quarter of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions. The installation of 102
charging units at 34 different locations by FAST Charge will reduce
emissions by an estimated 0.7 million tons over the first five years of
operation.

In addition, each charging station can be connected to a renewable energy
source such as solar or wind to facilitate 100-percent emission-free
driving. To further demonstrate this, the installation at Highway 11 and
Philip Creek Road in Ontario, will be connected to a solar photovoltaic
system, along with the grid, to demonstrate the full utilization of a clean
energy solution

The project is scheduled for completion by the first quarter of 2019.

About Natural Resources Canada
Natural Resources Canada seeks to enhance the responsible development and
use of Canada's natural resources and the competitiveness of Canada's
natural resources products. NRCan works to improve the quality of life of
Canadians by ensuring that our natural resources are developed sustainably,
providing a source of jobs, prosperity and opportunity, while preserving our
environment and respecting our communities and Indigenous peoples.

We are a federal institution that leads the Natural Resources portfolio and
works with its partners.

About Leclanché
Leclanché is one of the world's leading, vertically integrated, energy
storage solution providers. It delivers a wide range of energy storage
solutions for homes, small offices, industry, electricity grids, as well as
solutions for transport such as electric buses and marine applications.
Established in 1909, Leclanché has been a trusted provider of battery energy
storage solutions for over 100 years.

Leclanché is listed on the Swiss stock exchange, and is the only listed,
pure-play, energy storage company in the world.

SIX Swiss Exchange: ticker symbol LECN | ISIN CH 011 030 311 9

About eCAMION
eCAMION Inc. is a Toronto-based provider of modular, smart energy storage
solutions that find innovative use in community storage, EV charging,
auxiliary power units, storage for renewable energy projects as well as in
custom applications. These solutions work seamlessly with the existing grid
and eliminate issues such as intermittent supply, grid connectivity, and
aging infrastructure to ensure reliable and consistent supply of energy.
eCAMION's energy storage systems have been successfully deployed at various
locations across Ontario for customers including Toronto Hydro and Sudbury
Hydro.
For more information, please visit www.ecamion.com or email info@ecamion.com

About SGEM
SGEM is an independent owner and operator of energy storage assets based in
Switzerland. Driven by its long-term vision as an investor in energy storage
infrastructure, SGEM covers all the value-added activities from final stage
of project development, financing, construction supervision, operations &
maintenance. SGEM built strong cooperation with various developers in
selected markets and geographies to complete the validation of their project
technical and economic performance. These different activities call on a
range of capabilities, including industrial expertise and financial
innovation.
For more information, visit: www.sgemgroup.com

FAST Charge is a trademark of FAST Charge, Inc. All other trade names are
the property of their respective owners.

Disclaimer
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to
Leclanché's business, which can be identified by terminology such as
"strategic", "proposes", "to introduce", "will", "planned", "expected",
"commitment", "expects", "set", "preparing", "plans", "estimates", "aims",
"would", "potential", "awaiting", "estimated", "proposal", or similar
expressions, or by expressed or implied discussions regarding the ramp up of
Leclanché's production capacity, potential applications for existing
products, or regarding potential future revenues from any such products, or
potential future sales or earnings of Leclanché or any of its business
units.

You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such
forward-looking statements reflect the current views of Leclanché regarding
future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any
future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
statements. There can be no guarantee that Leclanché's products will achieve
any particular revenue levels. Nor can there be any guarantee that
Leclanché, or any of the business units, will achieve any particular
financial results.

Leclanché Media Contacts:

U.S. and Canada:
Rick Anderson / Henry Feintuch
T: +1 (718) 986-1596 / +1 (212) 808-4901
E-mail: leclanche@feintuchpr.com

Europe/Global:
Desirée Maghoo
T: +44 (0) 7775522740
E-mail: dmaghoo@questorconsulting.com

Simon Barker
T:+44 (0)7866 314331
E-mail: sbarker@questorconsulting.com

Leclanché Investor Contacts:
Anil Srivastava / Hubert Angleys
Tel.: +41 (0) 24 424 65 00
E-mail: invest.leclanche@leclanche.com

eCAMION Media Contact:
Elad Barak
T: 1-647-230-8121
E-mail: elad.barak@ecamion.com

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