The Gerard & Anton Awards have been presented again! High time to take a closer look at the winners and what we can expect from these start-ups. Today: SPIKE Technologies.
Read all the articles on the de Gerard & Anton Awards here.
Founders: Bas Verkaik, Jeroen Bleker and Bram van Diggelen
Founded in: 2017
Number of employees: 12
Funding Up until now, subsidies, loans , paid assignments. Busy with procuring series A funding.
What does SPIKE do?
” We use SPIKE to develop and manufacture battery solutions for a wide range of electric vehicles. These batteries distinguish themselves in terms of intelligence and flexibility, which enables us to provide several parties with high-quality battery solutions in a relatively short space of time. At the same time, we also support the development of complete propulsion systems and vehicles, so that we are able to take off any pressure that the parties may have.”
How did this idea come about?
SPIKE stems from the STORM student team, which drove around the world in eighty days with an electric motor. “We wanted to do something in conjunction with our studies. Your studies mainly focus on theory and with the exception of an internship, you miss out on practice. We just made a start with a few motorbike enthusiasts, inspired by other student teams. We saw then how far you can get when you really go all out for something with just a few people.” When SPIKE actually got started in 2018, there was still no clear goal. “We didn’t know exactly what we were going to do with the company. But we could get money for a job for Kibo so we decided to do it.” Since then, the company has continued to develop batteries for electric vehicles. “Ultimately, the battery is the most important and most expensive part of a vehicle. Using the knowledge we had, we made a prototype, at which point we knew we were going to keep on working on batteries.”
What motivates you to do this?
“After returning from our trip around the world with STORM’S electric motor, we were approached by all sorts of parties as to whether we could support the development of an electric vehicle. When we researched this market further, we noticed that many poor-quality vehicles are still being built where the battery packs are the main problem. That motivated us to do something about it and to really try to get the the maximum potential out of electric vehicles, making them a more sustainable alternative in comparison to conventional vehicles.”
What is your goal when it comes to SPIKE?
“We want to become a major player in the automotive market with customers all over the world. To that end, we want to be at the forefront of the latest technologies and developments. It is important to work a lot with innovative companies for this purpose and this region is ideally suited to that.”
What can we expect from you in the coming year?
“Our production facility is opening this month, so this year the first battery packs will be delivered to customers.”