20.07.2017 – 07:14

Leclanché SA

EQS-Adhoc: Leclanché SA: Leclanché, eCAMION and SGEM to Build and Operate Network of 34 Electric Vehicle Fast-Charging Stations Along Trans-Canada Highway

EQS Group-Ad-hoc: Leclanché SA / Key word(s): Market launch/Incoming Orders
Leclanché SA: Leclanché, eCAMION and SGEM to Build and Operate Network of 34
Electric Vehicle Fast-Charging Stations Along Trans-Canada Highway

20-Jul-2017 / 07:11 CET/CEST
Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 KR
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Leclanché, eCAMION and SGEM to Build and Operate Network of 34 Electric Vehicle
Fast-Charging Stations Along Trans-Canada Highway

Natural Resources Canada to Provide Significant Funding for Initiative to Boost
Electric Vehicle Adoption Under Canadian Energy Innovation Program

TORONTO, DALLAS and YVERDON LES BAINS, Switzerland, July 20, 2017 - Canada's
electric vehicle industry is about to receive a major boost with the
announcement of an agreement between eCAMION, based in Toronto, Dallas-based
Leclanché North America, part of Switzerland's Leclanché SA (SIX: LECN) and SGEM
based in Geneva, to develop and install a network of 34 fast-charging stations
along the Trans-Canada Highway (TCH).

The project, designed to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in
Canada, entails an investment of CAD $17.3 million (USD $13.6 million) and is
being partially funded by a CAD $8.0 million (USD $6.2 million) repayable
contribution from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) under the Canadian Energy
Innovation Program.

This public private initiative will be supported by an investment from eCAMION,
Leclanché and SGEM.

Canada recognizes the key role electric vehicles will play in reducing emissions
from the transportation sector," said Jim Carr, Canada's Minister of Natural
Resources. "With more electric vehicles becoming available, we want to make them
an easy choice for Canadians. This strategic investment brings us closer to
having a national coast-to-coast network of electric vehicle charging stations
while growing our economy and creating good jobs for Canada's middle-class."

FAST Charge Joint Venture Created to Manage EV Project
eCAMION and Leclanché have formed a Toronto-based joint venture, named FAST
ChargeTMInc., to manage the TCH project and further expand the implementation of
EV charging systems across North America. Bryan Urban, EVP of Leclanché North
America, will serve as president and Himanshu Sudan CFO of eCAMION will serve as
CEO of the joint venture.

eCAMION is a privately-held provider of modular, smart energy storage solutions
that find innovative use in community storage, EV charging, auxiliary power
units, storage for renewable energy projects as well as in custom applications.

Leclanché is one of the world's leading, vertically integrated, energy storage
solution providers. It delivers a wide range of energy storage solutions for
homes, small offices, industry, electricity grids, as well as solutions for
transport such as electric buses and marine applications.

SGEM is an independent power producer that develops, builds owns and operates
power generation assets including energy storage capabilities.

Project Designed to Overcome 'Range Anxiety'
Currently, most public EV charging stations operate at Level 2, requiring about
six to eight hours to charge a vehicle. The existing grid infrastructure
sometimes proves inadequate to support faster charging. This makes it cumbersome
for EV drivers to travel long distances contributing to 'range anxiety,' and is
one of the biggest obstacles globally to EV adoption.

The new system being developed by FAST Charge consists of an energy storage
system, using large-format lithium-ion batteries, along with multiple outlet
charging units that can be charge several EVs at once. This architecture helps
overcome the slow charge issue by acting as a buffer between the grid and the
vehicle and allowing EVs to be charged rapidly from the advanced lithium ion
batteries instead of directly but more slowly from the grid. This will enable
faster charging at Level 3 and higher, allowing EV drivers to charge their
vehicles in just 20 minutes.

"Our system will recharge the battery storage units during off-peak times at
considerable cost-savings and reduction in stress to the grid," said Bryan
Urban, EVP of Leclanché North America and president of FAST Charge. "Vehicles
will be able to power up during peak hours using off-peak energy and continue on
their journey in a relatively similar amount of time it would take to fuel a
fossil-fuel vehicle, grab a snack and visit a bathroom."

At the core of each station will be FAST Charge's state-of-the-art, energy
storage system featuring advanced lithium-ion batteries with scalable capacity
that will draw and store energy from the grid for use by charging units whenever
required. Each station will have three charging units to allow three vehicles to
be charged simultaneously.

FAST Charge has already started work on the demonstration units with significant
funding to be provided by NRCan and a target completion date of December 2017.
Manufacturing is scheduled to get underway in the first quarter of 2018 with
installation of EV charging stations to be completed through the remainder of
2018. The FAST Charge stations will be installed at 34 locations along the
Trans-Canada Highway roadway connecting Ontario and Manitoba Provinces - a total
distance of approximately 3,000 kilometers or 1,860 miles with the stations
spaced approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) apart.

"This is perhaps the largest infrastructure project for electrical vehicles to
be deployed at one time anywhere in the world," said Elad Barak, VP business
development of eCAMION. "We are pleased to collaborate with Natural Resources
Canada, Leclanché and SGEM to deliver a public infrastructure improvement of
this importance in terms of product innovation, environmental benefits and bold
policy initiative"

Environmental Benefits
Greater adoption of EVs for inter-urban travel will reduce the use of
carbon-intensive fuels for transportation, which currently generates nearly a
quarter of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions. The installation of 102 charging
units at 34 different locations by FAST Charge will reduce emissions by an
estimated 0.7 million tons over the first five years of operation.

In addition, each charging station can be connected to a renewable energy source
such as solar or wind to facilitate 100-percent emission-free driving. To
further demonstrate this, the installation at Highway 11 and Philip Creek Road
in Ontario, will be connected to a solar photovoltaic system, along with the
grid, to demonstrate the full utilization of a clean energy solution

The project is scheduled for completion by the first quarter of 2019.

About Natural Resources Canada
Natural Resources Canada seeks to enhance the responsible development and use of
Canada's natural resources and the competitiveness of Canada's natural resources
products. NRCan works to improve the quality of life of Canadians by ensuring
that our natural resources are developed sustainably, providing a source of
jobs, prosperity and opportunity, while preserving our environment and
respecting our communities and Indigenous peoples.

We are a federal institution that leads theNatural Resources portfolioand works
with its partners.

About Leclanché
Leclanché is one of the world's leading, vertically integrated, energy storage
solution providers. It delivers a wide range of energy storage solutions for
homes, small offices, industry, electricity grids, as well as solutions for
transport such as electric buses and marine applications. Established in 1909,
Leclanché has been a trusted provider of battery energy storage solutions for
over 100 years.

Leclanché is listed on the Swiss stock exchange, and is the only listed,
pure-play, energy storage company in the world.

SIX Swiss Exchange: ticker symbol LECN | ISIN CH 011 030 311 9

About eCAMION
eCAMION Inc. is a Toronto-based provider of modular, smart energy storage
solutions that find innovative use in community storage, EV charging, auxiliary
power units, storage for renewable energy projects as well as in custom
applications. These solutions work seamlessly with the existing grid and
eliminate issues such as intermittent supply, grid connectivity, and aging
infrastructure to ensure reliable and consistent supply of energy. eCAMION's
energy storage systems have been successfully deployed at various locations
across Ontario for customers including Toronto Hydro and Sudbury Hydro.
For more information, please visitwww.ecamion.comor  emailinfo@ecamion.com

About SGEM
SGEM is an independent owner and operator of energy storage assets based in
Switzerland. Driven by its long-term vision as an investor in energy storage
infrastructure, SGEM covers all the value-added activities from final stage of
project development, financing, construction supervision, operations &
maintenance. SGEM built strong cooperation with various developers in selected
markets and geographies to complete the validation of their project technical
and economic performance. These different activities call on a range of
capabilities, including industrial expertise and financial innovation.
For more information, visit:www.sgemgroup.com

FAST Charge is a trademark of FAST Charge, Inc. All other trade names are the
property of their respective owners.

Disclaimer
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to
Leclanché's business, which can be identified by terminology such as
"strategic", "proposes", "to introduce", "will", "planned", "expected",
"commitment", "expects", "set", "preparing", "plans", "estimates", "aims",
"would", "potential", "awaiting", "estimated", "proposal", or similar
expressions, or by expressed or implied discussions regarding the ramp up of
Leclanché's production capacity, potential applications for existing products,
or regarding potential future revenues from any such products, or potential
future sales or earnings of Leclanché or any of its business units.

You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking
statements reflect the current views of Leclanché regarding future events, and
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause
actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance
or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no
guarantee that Leclanché's products will achieve any particular revenue levels.
Nor can there be any guarantee that Leclanché, or any of the business units,
will achieve any particular financial results.

Leclanché Media Contacts:

U.S. and Canada:
Rick Anderson / Henry Feintuch
T: +1 (718) 986-1596 / +1 (212) 808-4901
E-mail:leclanche@feintuchpr.com

Europe/Global:
Desirée Maghoo
T: +44 (0) 7775522740
E-mail:dmaghoo@questorconsulting.com

Simon Barker
T:+44 (0)7866 314331
E-mail:sbarker@questorconsulting.com

Leclanché Investor Contacts:
Anil Srivastava / Hubert Angleys
Tel.: +41 (0) 24 424 65 00
E-mail:invest.leclanche@leclanche.com

eCAMION Media Contact:
Elad Barak
T: 1-647-230-8121
E-mail:elad.barak@ecamion.com

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End of ad hoc announcement------------------------------------------------------

Language: English

Company:  Leclanché SA

          Av. des Sports 42

          1400 Yverdon-les-Bains

          Switzerland

Phone:    +41 (24) 424 65-00

Fax:      +41 (24) 424 65-20

E-mail:    investors@leclanche.com

Internet: www.leclanche.com

ISIN:     CH0110303119, CH0016271550

Valor:    A1CUUB, 812950

Listed:   SIX Swiss Exchange



 

End of Announcement EQS Group News Service

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594175  20-Jul-2017 CET/CEST