Miba has taken a 25.1 percent stake in the Upper Austrian company Voltlabor, a sister company of Nordfels GmbH. The enterprise from Bad Leonfelden specializes in the development and production of batteries for electric drives. As the expertise of the two companies is perfectly complementary, it will be pooled in order to leverage opportunities for growth with the goal of creating an important player for the development and production of battery systems that comes from Austria and operates worldwide. Activities will be centered on technologically sophisticated niches in which Voltlabor has a clear technology lead.

While Voltlabor has built up a lot of expertise as a manufacturer of battery systems, Miba has specialized in component development and production. Miba will make its technologies for thermal management of batteries available to the joint venture; these contribute substantially to the optimum functioning of the battery as a whole. One such technology is FLEXcooler®, a flexible battery cooling system that can adjust its shape to fit battery cells, delivering considerable advantages over conventional solutions. Miba will also contribute its expertise in the industrialization of production processes, its access to customers and markets around the world and its production capabilities on four continents. 

Bad Leonfelden in Upper Austria will remain Voltlabor’s business location. Depending on how business develops, further sites may be added in key markets. Stefan Gaigg from the Miba eMobility team who heads the Business Unit Battery Components has been appointed as managing director of Voltlabor.

“The battery is the centerpiece of electric drives. Miba has already developed a number of solutions for thermal management of batteries. Investing in Voltlabor to expand our expertise toward complete battery systems is the next logical step,” says Miba CEO F. Peter Mitterbauer. By taking a stake in this Voltlabor, Miba is continuing its strategy of being proactively involved in the electrification of drives in line with its vision “No powertrain without Miba technology,” he adds.

“Having Miba as a partner will enable us to set the scene for future growth in all key customer markets worldwide,” says Voltlabor co-founder and CFO of Nordfels GmbH, Johannes Kaar: “By pooling our expertise we can take advantage of opportunities and develop the company together.

Photo 1: Martin Liebl (General Manager Miba Friction Group), Stefan Gaigg (Managing Director Battery Systems at Voltlabor and Head of Battery Components at Miba eMobility GmbH), Martin Reingruber (Cofounder Voltlabor and CEO Nordfels GmbH), Johannes Kaar (Cofounder Voltlabor and CFO Nordfels GmbH), F. Peter Mitterbauer (CEO Miba AG).



Photo 2: The Voltlabor team with the partners from Miba

Photos: Gerold Zeidler