Total Funding to-date of 37 million SEK (3.5m USD)
- Investment round driven by existing lead investors Trucks VC and First Venture, followed by the majority of existing investors who participated in the seed round completed in December 2021 of 21 million SEK.
- New capital will be directed towards scaling Cling’s data and trading infrastructure and recruitment.
- The financial instrument used is equity with the investment closing in late November.
Stockholm, 12th December 2023
What does Cling Systems do? Cling Systems (“Cling” or “the company”) is a Swedish startup on a mission to enable battery circularity and support society and nature to thrive indefinitely. Cling achieves this via three key business activities; Trade, Trace and Transport, made efficient by a proprietary digital infrastructure referred to as the world’s first Circular Asset Management (CAM) System.
The CAM system brings three critical market enablers:
- Increased efficiency for companies who require circular battery operations.
- Maximised value retention of batteries by optimising between reuse, repurposing, and recycling.
- Minimised risk due to a rigorous focus on regulatory compliance, traceability, and safe logistics.
More details on the bridge fundraise: The company has completed a bridge fundraise of 14.4 million SEK from the majority of existing investors. The strong commitment from the existing investors is a demonstration of Cling’s momentum and growing need for its services from an international customer base. The new funds will enable Cling’s team to be scaled, and greater volumes of batteries to be traded, and the scope of solutions to be expanded – setting the technical, contractual, and data-standards for a nascent market.
William Bergh, Founder and CEO of Cling Systems, commented:
“In our pursuit of circularity, this investment not only powers Cling's growth and innovation but also signifies our investors' commitment to a sustainable society. Beyond financial backing, it represents a belief in a future where natural resources are used efficiently and fairly. With this support, we're expanding our team, actively seeking top talent to drive our global mission for a more sustainable and harmonious world.”
Progress to-date:
During 2022 and 2023, Cling has rapidly experimented and evolved its platform and technology stack, moving from a two-sided marketplace business model to the collection of systems with 395 registered users, from 309 companies in 30 countries. To-date, the majority of trades and product activity has been directed at enabling the potential of second-life batteries to be realized – with a variety of use cases such as energy storage or in mobility.
As end-of-life flows of batteries begin to increase, these solutions will be extended to other participants across the value chain, in line with the requirements of the New Battery Regulation in the EU and tailwinds prompted by the Inflation Reduction Act in the US. Cling’s full time employee headcount as of December 2023 stands at 14, up from 3 at the seed fundraise in December 2021.
Johan Andersson, Chairman of the Board of Cling Systems, commented:
“Cling is setting a new standard in enabling circular flows of batteries and unlocking the end-of-life market at scale. The team has fantastic momentum, are first to learn, and are growing their network at pace. Expertise in trading, transport, and logistics is fundamental in this sector, and Cling have that at their core. The company’s strong commercial performance this year has provided a solid base from which our investors are able to make this commitment.
Reilly Brennan, Partner at Trucks VC, commented:
“Nobody knows where more batteries are on earth than the team at Cling Systems. This data advantage means faster sales for asset owners and more efficient acquisitions for buyers.”
Oliver Victor Ether Pawela, Investment Manager at First Venture, commented:
“Few companies capture the ethos of the energy transition so well as Cling Systems. By combining speed, scale, and sustainability the team at Cling is creating a path of true circularity for the battery industry and we are very excited about the trillion-dollar market they are addressing. The potential is vast, the energy palpable, and we could not be more proud to help the team take their next step on their journey.”
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For additional information, please contact Eden Yates, Marketing Lead
eden@clingsystems.com or +46 (0)763084585
Read more at: http://www.clingsystems.com
Register at: http://www.platform.clingsystems.com
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cling-systems/
About Cling Systems:
Cling Systems is a Swedish startup founded in 2020 establishing a new business-critical digital infrastructure for a circular battery value chain. The company’s mission is to enable battery circularity and support society and nature to thrive indefinitely. How Cling achieves this is via three key business activities; Trade, Trace and Transport, made efficient by a proprietary Circular Asset Management (CAM) System.
