Alro Group is taking an important step in its rapid growth as an e-mobility surface treatment specialist Alro Group is taking an important step in its rapid growth as an e-mobility surface treatment specialist Alro Group is taking an important step in its rapid growth as an e-mobility surface treatment specialist

Alro Group is taking an important step in its rapid growth as an e-mobility surface treatment specialist

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Gimv makes an additional investment in Alro Group following an important step in the company's evolution: Alro Group has concluded a strategic partnership with IPC, the German specialist in fire-resistant coatings. In collaboration with IPC, Alro Group will apply fire-resistant coatings in electric vehicles ('EVs'). With this, Alro Group is responding to the new e-models that many car brands are launching and to the challenges that the fire safety of batteries entails.

The electrification of the vehicles on our roads is gathering pace. With a concern for greater sustainability and driven by climate standards and emerging legislation, many car brands are rolling out their e-models more quickly. An increasing pain point for electric cars is the fire safety of batteries. Lithium-ion battery cells can overheat, which in a chain reaction ('thermal runaway') can lead to a rapid and life-threatening fire.

It is precisely this risk to which IPC’s innovative technology provides an answer. Responding to the rapid arrival of electric cars and stricter fire safety regulations, IPC has developed a new solution for coating EV battery housings. IPC's unique fireproof coating outperforms competing technologies and has generated interest among electric vehicle manufacturers worldwide. Where IPC has in-house expertise in fire-resistant coatings, Alro Group specialises in the professional application of coatings on a large industrial scale, including for demanding automotive industry customers. The cooperation and complementarity of Alro Group and IPC create a promising future.

Christophe Van Quickenborne, Partner at Gimv, explains: “In the past year, Alro Group has taken some very attractive steps in the functional coating of EV parts. In addition to the Audi e-Tron, Alro now also provides the functional surface treatment of critical parts of Volvo and Porsche electric powertrains. IPC's innovative fire protection coating is a particularly attractive additional product that will enable Alro Group to accelerate its strong growth in the EV segment. We are of course also very pleased to be able to contribute in this way to the further and safer greening of the world’s vehicle fleet.”

For more information, we refer to the attached press release of Alro and IPC.