Founded in 2018, the French company Gouach has developed a battery specifically for use in e-bikes, electric scooters and other small electric vehicles that can be repaired in less than ten minutes. Now the Bordeaux-based company has raised 3.3 million euros in a new round of financing.
Gouach’s patented battery design makes it possible to easily replace defective components. The basic idea behind the development is to reduce the amount of electronic waste with the repairable batteries. The company expects to be able to reduce the CO2 footprint of batteries in micromobility by up to 70 per cent with its development.
In the Gouach battery, it is not just individual round cells that can be removed and replaced – for example, if a cell is defective or in poor condition. The entire battery, including the control unit, sensors and charging connection, has no soldered joints. This means that the individual components can be easily disconnected and reconnected. The time-consuming separation of solder joints is no longer necessary.
The three founders Alexandre Vallette, Maxime Agor and Maël Primet got the idea from a study according to which a large part of the components in defective and thus discarded batteries were still in perfect condition. After the 18-month development phase and the receipt of important certificates, a test phase was carried out together with the French micromobility provider Pony.
With the funds now raised, Gouach plans to market their battery to fleet operators and manufacturers in the micromobility sector. “It’s a big challenge but we are convinced that we can do it.,” says Alexandre Vallette, CEO of Gouach.
The funding round was led by Breega. “Gouach is the first European company to tackle the problem of battery obsolescence in the micro-mobility sector in depth,” says Maximilien Bacot, managing partner of Breega. “It’s patented, smart and repairable battery is a must-have for micro-mobility manufacturers and suppliers, allowing them to reduce both costs and carbon footprint.”
However, the idea of repairable batteries has also met with criticism. CONEBI, the European Bicycle Industry Association, expressed concerns in a position paper published in early February. “CONEBI is a strong supporter of only using original OEM certified batteries on e-bikes, we highly discourage end-users to make use of any repair services,” it says.
eu-startups.com, bike-eu.com, tech.eu
Keyword: Battery startup Gouach closes million-dollar funding round