Croatian electric vehicle (EV) technology company, Rimac Technology, has announced the launch of its new brand, Rimac Energy, as it enters the stationary energy storage systems (ESS) market.

The move marks a significant milestone as the company seeks to expand beyond its EV technology and introduce stationary energy storage systems that are essential for realising the full potential of renewable power generation and driving the decarbonisation of energy networks.

Rimac Energy's technology is expected to have a reduction in energy losses of up to 50% and a 40% smaller system footprint compared to traditional ESS systems, while also offering improved cycle life and built-in redundancy for increased availability, the company said in a press release emailed to bne IntelliNews.

The new brand has been built as a team of 60 employees from within Rimac Technology over the last 18 months.

"We recognise the importance of stationary storage solutions to power our planet sustainably. Given our track record in innovative battery technology, we believe we will play a vital role in building Europe's future energy ecosystems, elevating it on the global stage,” said Rimac Energy's director, Wasim Sarwar. 

“All products are fully designed, developed, and produced in Europe,” Sarwar added.

The company plans to supply technology for large commercial, industrial and utility-scale applications, with battery-buffered solutions for fast and mega-watt charging already in progress. 

Rimac Energy currently has several customer projects in discussion, including a project with a leading renewable energy company to provide battery storage solutions for their solar and wind power plants. 

The pilot systems are expected to be produced by the end of this year and commissioned in 2024. Mass manufacturing is set to start in 2025, scaling to more than 10GWh of annual production.

The Rimac Group is the sole stakeholder of Rimac Technology, as well as a majority shareholder of Bugatti Rimac. 

Headquartered in Sveta Nedelja, near Croatia’s capital Zagreb, the Rimac Group manufactures hypercars and develops high-performance electrification, including batteries and power trains and software solutions for some of the world’s largest OEMs, including Mercedes, Jaguar, Renault, and Hyundai. The group employs over 2,000 people in total.

In November, Rimac said its electric hypercar Nevera achieved a speed of 412 km/h, setting a world record for an electric vehicle.

As of June 2022, when the Rimac Group raised €500mn in Series D financing, the company was valued at over €2bn. The funds were intended for further development of its technology arm Rimac Technology.