Ensurge Micropower ASA; Announcement on Organizational Changes and Commercial Update
Ensurge Micropower ASA announced significant organizational changes, with Mark Newman set to replace Kevin Barber as Interim CEO starting February 8, 2023. Mark brings extensive experience in batteries and electric vehicles, having served on the Board since May 2022. The company reported a production order for 150,000 units of its solid-state lithium micro-batteries and is in discussions with potential strategic partners. Ensurge plans to reduce costs and raise funds through its US subsidiary to enhance its operations and market presence. The appointment of an interim CEO is temporary; a permanent CEO search is underway.
- Received a production order for 150,000 solid-state lithium micro-batteries.
- Strong pipeline of customer leads across diverse industries.
- Plans to reduce costs and cash burn for better financial health.
- Potential for raising funds and possible listing of the US subsidiary.
- Change in leadership may disrupt company operations.
- The need to cut costs indicates potential financial strain.
Oslo, Norway 6 January 2023.
Ensurge Micropower ASA (“Ensurge” or the “Company”) today announces the implementation of certain organizational changes and provides a commercial update, including plans going forward.
Change of CEO:
Ensurge hereby announces that Mark Newman will assume the role as Interim Chief Executive Officer of Ensurge and its US subsidiary, commencing on or about 8 February 2023. Mark will be based in San Jose, California. He will replace Kevin Barber, who has been the CEO since November 2018. Mark is presently a member of the Board of Directors of the Company. Due to applicable legal requirements, he will temporarily resign from the Board while serving as Interim CEO. Board election will be an agenda item at an upcoming extraordinary general meeting to be called and the nomination committee will be asked to identify and propose suitable candidate(s) for the Board prior to such general meeting.
Mark, who is a British citizen, has served on the Board of Ensurge since 25 May 2022. He is founder and CEO of Electric Revolution Ventures, and is a renowned expert, advisor and investor in batteries, semiconductors, and electric vehicles. Mark was the top ranked analyst and lead author of Bernstein’s all time most read research globally, “Electric Revolution” and “Battery Bible”, and is a frequent speaker and commentator on these topics. He spent over a decade as Managing Director and Senior Analyst covering technology at Bernstein, where he spearheaded the Electric Revolution thematic research covering batteries, semiconductors, and the entire electric vehicle value chain.
Previously, Mark was Director of Strategy at Samsung in Korea, where he led several strategic initiatives, venture investments and acquisitions. He also worked at Applied Materials in California, supporting the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturing companies in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Mark was a seed investor and until recently Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Strategy at fast-charge battery pioneers, Nyobolt. He has been an active investor in several other start-ups and advisor to Ivanhoe Capital Acquisition and SES.ai, that recently combined (now SES.ai) and listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Mark currently serves on the board of the Faraday Institution (the UK’s flagship battery research program).
Mark holds a Master’s in Chemical Engineering from University College London, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
The Company is delighted that Mark Newman, with his deep knowledge of the battery industry and business, proven track-record in executive management, and good knowledge of Ensurge based on his position on the Board, wishes to take the position as Interim CEO.
As Mark is a non - EEA or UK resident, his appointment as interim CEO of Ensurge Micropower ASA requires an exemption from the residence requirements under the Public Limited Companies Act. Ensurge will immediately file for such an exemption with the Ministry of Trade, Industries and Fisheries.
The Company also takes this opportunity to express its appreciation to Kevin Barber for his many years of service to the Company as Chief Executive Offier. Kevin was instrumental in the Company’s change of business strategy in 2020 to design and develop rechargeable solid- state lithium microbatteries and the subsequent development and growth of the Company.
Commercial Update and Plans
Ensurge has made significant progress since announcing its updated business strategy in January 2020. The Company received the first production order for 150,000 units of its rechargeable 1-100 milliampere (mAh) solid-state lithium micro-batteries in December 2022. The Company remains in deep discussions with strategic partners and customers with a multinational reach, and there is a strong pipeline of exciting customer leads, within a wide range of industries and business segments.
Consequently, the Company is now in a position to capture a significant share of the large global market for micro-batteries. Ensurge makes both core battery cell technology and fully packaged batteries and will continue to market and sell both offerings. The market continues to grow and the interest from potential customers looking for Ensurge’s cells and batteries is thus increasing.
In the short term, and to better position the Company for further commercialization and growth, measures will be taken to reduce costs and cash burn. All expenditures will be reviewed with the objective to cut costs meaningfully. The financial restructuring of the Company will include raising funds through the US subsidiary, a possible listing of the US subsidiary, and other measures that will strengthen the long-term positioning of Ensurge.
Work with key customers and strategic partners will be intensified, with the aim for Ensurge to reach commercial agreements, which, in turn, will enable the Company to invest in roll-to-roll equipment to be able to serve the existing strong demand in the market.
There will be a focus on maintaining a stable team and operations. The key technical team in San Jose, California remains fully dedicated with a firm belief in the Company’s technology and commercial potential.
As the appointment of Mark Newman as CEO is intended as interim in nature, the Company will seek to find a permanent CEO.
This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) and is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to MAR article 17 and section 5 -12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. This stock exchange release was published by Ståle Bjørnstad, VP, Corporate Development and IR, on 6 February 2023 at 0800 CET.
For more information about Ensurge's microbattery technology visit the Company's website, www.ensurge.com.
Contact: Ståle Bjørnstad - Investor Relations Email: stale.bjornstad@ensurge.com (mailto:stale.bjornstad@ensurge.com) Phone: +47 99 16 76 72
About Ensurge Micropower Ensurge is Energizing Innovation (TM) with the first ultrathin, flexible, reliable, and fundamentally safe solid-state lithium microbattery for the 1-100 milliampere-hour (mAh) class of wearable devices, connected sensors, and beyond. The innovative Ensurge Microbattery enables energy-dense rechargeable products that are ideal for form-factor-constrained applications including hearables (hearing aids and wireless headphones), digital and health wearables, sports and fitness devices, and IoT sensor solutions that use energy harvesting to power everyday things. The company's state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, located in the heart of Silicon Valley, combines patented process technology and materials innovation with the scale of roll-to-roll production methods to bring the advantages of Ensurge technology to established and expanding markets.
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