February 28, 2019: Bulgarian lead acid battery firm MonBat on announced on February 20 its intent to build a 2.4GWh bipolar lead battery plant in Vratza.

The announcement follows the firm’s acquisition of licensing rights to the full suite of GreenSeal bipolar technology from Advanced Battery Concepts, the US firm that has six companies on its books.

A company spokesperson refused to add anything to the official statement, which said: “If the intent to invest is approved, MonBat will research into the possibility of the project to be financed by European funds.”

The plan has been put in front of Vratza municipality “to research the local authority’s interest in such future projects”, the statement says.

MonBat Group, which began life in 1959 with a lead-acid battery plant, now has recycling plants and also makes lithium-ion batteries.