Battery producer Powin filed for chapter on Wednesday. The Oregon-based firm mentioned it has greater than $300 million in debt.
The Chapter 11 submitting will let the corporate proceed working whereas it restructures its debt.
Powin manufactured grid-scale batteries utilizing lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) cells from China. Powin had been looking for various home suppliers, however the supply chain wasn’t sufficiently mature, Jeff Waters, the corporate’s former CEO, instructed Bloomberg in April.
The corporate laid off practically 250 staff earlier this month, and simply 85 stay, lower than a fifth of what it began the 12 months with. Alongside the chapter submitting, Waters was changed by Brian Krane, Powin’s chief initiatives officer.
Powin was a survivor of the primary clear tech increase over a decade in the past. The corporate was taken personal in 2018, and it obtained $135 million in development fairness in 2022 from traders together with Power Influence Companions, GIC, and Trilantic Power Companions. Extra not too long ago, it secured a $200 million revolving credit facility from KKR.
In recent times, Powin had grown alongside the increase in grid-scale battery storage, ranked third within the U.S. by way of put in capability and fourth worldwide. The corporate didn’t say what spurred the sudden rise in debt, although given its reliance on Chinese language LFP cells, tariffs could have performed a roll.