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16 Feb 2026
Raeon and Hidria Form Strategic Partnership to Scale Custom Battery Production in UK and Europe
Raeon and Hidria Form Strategic Partnership to Scale Custom Battery Production in UK and Europe
UK battery manufacturer Raeon partners with European industrial giant Hidria to extend support for Raeon’s battery customers as they expand from low-medium volumes to mass manufacturing.
Partnership unlocks a seamless "Route to Volume": Optimised low-to-medium volume production in the UK, scaling to high-volume industrialisation in Europe.
Targeting critical performance sectors: Defence, Marine, Off-Highway, Niche Automotive, and Advanced Air Mobility.
Raeon’s "FloLock™" technology delivers production-grade, performance-optimised, custom batteries with diverse cell sizes and chemistries (LTO, Sodium Ion, NMC, LFP) to deliver performance-optimised custom batteries in weeks, not years.
Warwick, UK (February 2026): Raeon, a leading innovative UK custom battery manufacturer, today announces a transformative investment partnership with Hidria, a European industrial technology corporation backed by the global powerhouse Gonvarri Industries.
Announced on World Battery Day, this collaboration solves the critical "scaling gap" for the specialised vehicle market. Historically, manufacturers in sectors like Marine Defence, Motorsport, and Niche Automotive have faced a binary choice: force-fit standard "off-the-shelf" modules that compromise vehicle performance, or pay unpalatable costs in non-recurring costs for bespoke mass-market solutions that become uncompetitive as battery technology evolves.
Raeon utilises its patent-pending FloLock™ resin encapsulation technology to deliver application-optimised, production-grade battery modules at low-to-medium volumes (1 to 10,000 batteries/year) from their UK HQ. Uniquely, this architecture is fully agnostic to cell format and chemistry. Whether the application requires the rapid charging of LTO, the cost-effectiveness of Sodium Ion, or the energy density of NMC and LFP, Raeon can integrate varied cell sizes and types without expensive re-tooling. This new partnership with Hidria unlocks access to these optimised technologies at higher volumes for companies scaling up vehicle production.
"We built Raeon to tackle the problem of battery cost and lead time. We set out to answer ‘how do lower volume vehicle manufacturers access their perfect battery without spending millions on development and waiting years and years?'" said Tom Brooks, COO and co-founder of Raeon. "Whether you’re building 10 high-performance restomods or 500 autonomous defence vehicles, you need a battery that is optimised for your specific requirements - rarely does an ‘off-the-shelf’ battery tick all the boxes. This partnership with Hidria allows us to support our existing and future customers from their first production batch right through to global mass-market scale."
The partnership is strategically aligned to electrify markets that demand robust, non-standard energy storage where "good enough" isn't an option:
Defence (Marine & Ground): "Mission Ready" power. High-density, ruggedised energy storage for UUVs, USVs, and UGVs where packaging space is restricted and anti-propagation safety is critical.
Niche Automotive & Restomods: "Preserve the Legend." Custom-shaped modules that fit irregular engine bays and transmission tunnels, maintaining the perfect centre of gravity and vehicle dynamics without cutting the chassis.
Motorsport: "Race-Winning Tech." Ultra-lightweight, high-C-rate systems prioritising thermal performance and power density for the competitive edge.
Off-Highway & Industrial: "Heavy Duty Cycles." Vibration-resistant, all-weather modules designed for the shock and abuse of construction and mining environments.
Through this alliance, customers gain a de-risked pathway to growth. Raeon provides the agility to enter the market quickly with optimised, UK-manufactured packs. As demand scales into the thousands, production transitions seamlessly to Hidria’s high-volume European facilities, which already supply millions of parts to OEMs.
Boštjan Berginc, Corporate Innovation and R&D Director at Hidria, commented: "At Hidria, we are committed to sustainable growth and technological excellence. Raeon’s innovative approach to battery assembly unlocks a vast new range of sectors for us, from electric forklifts to eVTOLs. Together, we offer a complete lifecycle solution: agile, custom manufacturing in the UK backed by the industrial scale and financial stability of Gonvarri Industries in Europe."
With the UK-EU Rules of Origin deadlines tightening, this partnership offers a timely solution: "Global Chemistry, Local Industrialisation." The model allows customers to utilise the best cell chemistry from global Tier-1 suppliers while ensuring the high-value battery assembly is performed within the UK and Europe, safeguarding tariff-free trade.
For enquiries regarding custom battery development across all volumes, please contact: