Leclanché SA: EPAL Partners with Leclanché and Deltro and Invests US $12 million in First Utility-scale Canadian Energy Storage Project Mittwoch, 08. November 2017 - 18:29

Leclanché SA / Key word(s): Investment/Financing
Leclanché SA: EPAL Partners with Leclanché and Deltro and Invests US $12
million in First Utility-scale Canadian Energy Storage Project

08-Nov-2017 / 18:27 CET/CEST
Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 KR
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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EPAL Partners with Leclanché and Deltro and Invests US $12 million in First
Utility-scale Canadian Energy Storage Project

- Investment to support India's COP 21 commitment of generating 175GW from
renewable energy by 2022

- Partnership to support e-mobility mission of Government of India

- The 28 MW / 14 MWh battery storage system is one of the largest in North
America

LONDON/ YVERDON LES BAINS, Switzerland, November 8, 2017: EPAL, a joint
venture between Indian state-owned Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL)
and UK-based EnergyPro Limited (EP), is partnering with leading battery
storage solutions provider Leclanché, starting with the investment of US $12
million in a previously announced and nearly completed advanced battery
storage project in Ontario, Canada, known as Basin 1 and 2 [1]. The
high-quality project, built and owned by Leclanché and development partner
Deltro Energy, is the first utility scale energy storage facility designed
to balance the Ontario power grid, with a total investment of approximately
US $25 million.

The battery storage project will provide services to the Independent Energy
Systems Operator (IESO) that oversees and manages the power grid of the
province of Ontario, and is interconnected to Toronto Hydro, the largest
municipal electricity distribution company in Canada. The Ontario power
supply has shifted heavily towards intermittent power sources over the past
three years creating additional grid management challenges for the IESO. The
lithium battery storage project will improve stability on Canada's largest
transmission grid by managing unbalanced supply-demand situations.

The partnership has strategic importance from India's perspective as its
government has set a target of achieving 175GW of renewable energy by the
year 2022, equivalent to 40 per cent of the country's energy supply, up from
12 per cent now. This was a part of India's commitment during COP21. To
achieve this target, India's energy supply will be dependent on intermittent
power sources and ancillary services will be required to stabilise the grid.
Battery storage will help achieve stabilisation, supply power to charging
stations and reduce the substantial Unscheduled Interchange (UI) charges
payable by the country's utilities and states (around $461.5 million
annually).

Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Mr. Dinesh K. Patnaik, Acting High
Commissioner of India to UK, said, "This partnership marks the beginning of
a significant development in the energy efficiency sector. With the
ever-increasing energy consumption, technologies like battery storage will
go hand in hand with efficiency to balance supply and demand. I am very
hopeful that EPAL, with its excellent track record in driving the UJALA (UK
Joins Affordable LEDs for All) initiative, will bring a revolution in the
market with its advancement into battery storage projects."

Mr Saurabh Kumar, Managing Director, EESL, and Chairman of subsidiary EPAL,
said, "We are delighted to partner with Leclanché. It has been our constant
endeavor to make future-ready technology solutions accessible. With a focus
on long, low-carbon initiatives globally, we have partnered with the world's
leading battery storage solution provider. We are confident that this
partnership will help bring a new era of clean energy solutions for the
world."

"Working together with EESL on this project has highlighted some unique
synergies between the companies," said Anil Srivastava, Leclanché CEO. "We
are exploring many additional ways to integrate Leclanché's advanced lithium
battery solutions into stationary storage systems as well as new mobility
applications such as EV charging stations, full-electric buses and urban
transportation systems."

"At EnergyPro we are excited to be working with our JV partner EESL and
Leclanché on this significant utility scale energy storage project. We see
it as a first step to deploying energy storage solutions at a range of
scales, something that will be essential to the energy transition in all
economies," said Steven Fawkes, Managing Partner at EnergyPro Limited.

The Indian government recently launched an ambitious investment programme in
new energy, both domestically and overseas, of which the investment in the
Leclanché and Deltro Project forms a part. The domestic plans are driven by
the government's target of increasing the contribution of renewables to the
country's energy supply. As part of this, the government has mandated that
by 2030 all vehicles on its roads will be electric - the most aggressive
such target in the world. Battery storage helps stabilise grids, which is a
challenge as they become increasingly dependent on intermittent renewable
energy sources. Storage also reduces the operational costs of grids and
defers and reduces future infrastructure costs.

Integral to its global programme, in May 2017, the Indian government
announced that it would invest £155 million in clean energy initiatives in
the UK's public and private sectors through EPAL. To date, EPAL's UK
initiatives include an affordable LED lighting scheme (UJALA), targeted at
social housing associations in London, and the acquisition of two energy
savings companies serving seven clients in education and leisure.

The global energy storage markets continue to experience very high growth.
According to Navigant Research, in the four years to 2020 utility-scale
generation and micro grids will experience a Combined Annual Growth Rate
(CAGR) of 48 per cent; commercial and industrial battery systems, 58 per
cent CAGR; and eTransport, 37 per cent CAGR.

Panitek Power AG, headquartered in Switzerland, was the investment adviser
on the transaction.

* * * * *

About EPAL

EESL EnergyPro Assets Limited (EPAL) is a joint venture of Energy Efficiency
Services Limited, an Energy Service Company under the Ministry of Power,
Government of India, and EnergyPro Ltd, an advisory company in energy
efficiency.

EESL is promoted by four large public-sector undertakings with a combined
net worth of over $32 billion. EESL is implementing the world's largest
non-subsidy energy efficiency portfolio across areas including lighting,
buildings and agriculture, at a unique scale. In the UK, through its
subsidiary EPAL, EESL aims to promote and implement low-carbon, energy
efficiency and renewable energy solutions in both the public and private
sectors.

About Leclanché

Leclanché is one of the world's leading fully vertically integrated energy
storage solution providers. It delivers a wide range of 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 trusted provider of
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.

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 Deltro Energy

Deltro Energy Inc. is a member of The Deltro Group of Companies which
strives to empower communities through the provision of reliable
electricity. Providing turnkey solutions that are scalable, practical,
deployable and commercially feasible makes Deltro Energy Inc. a leading
energy storage solution developer in Canada. With momentous global growth in
the renewable energy industry, Deltro quickly expanded from completing
subcontract installations through major Canadian construction contractors to
partnering on renewable projects and entering into its own Power Purchase
Agreements. While solidifying its position here in Canada, Deltro has begun
its expansion into the Caribbean as well.

Learn more at Deltro.com or connect with us on Twitter @DeltroGroup.

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.

* * * * *

Europe/Global:
Désirée Maghoo
T: +44 (0) 7775 522740
E-mail: dmaghoo@questorconsulting.com

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

US and Canada:
Rick Anderson
T: +1 (718) 986-1596

Henry Feintuch
T: +1 (212) 808-4901
E-mail: leclanche@feintuchpr.com

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

# # #[1] Basin 1 is scheduled to undergo completion testing in December 2017
and Basin 2 will follow with commercial operations in the first quarter
2018.


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