Slovakia-based battery cell developer and battery energy storage systems (BESS) manufacturer InoBat AS on July 27, 2026 signed a definitive business combination with New York-based special purpose acquisition company Cartesian Growth Corporation II (OTCPK: RENEF), a deal that values InoBat at $1.265 billion (approximately €1.1 billion) on a pre-money, pre-merger basis and is expected to see the combined company trade on Nasdaq under the ticker "INBT" following an expected late-2026 close.
$77.5M PIPE, No Minimum Cash Condition
The combination bundles a $77.5 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) committed by institutional investors alongside InoBat's current shareholders, with no minimum-cash condition to close. The InoBat valuation includes consideration tied to strategic and EBITDA-based earnouts, giving the Voderady, Slovakia-headquartered company a fast-tracked path to US public markets that will bypass a traditional IPO roadshow. Dentons is legal counsel to InoBat, while Greenberg Traurig LLP and Hillbridges are counsel to Cartesian II.
Powering AI Data Centers, Not Just The Grid
InoBat says it has contracted or delivered 875 MWh of utility-scale BESS across Europe through its BESSMONT product line, and is explicitly repositioning that platform to serve the surging power demand from hyperscale data centers and AI training clusters. "AI runs on computing; computing runs on power," said co-founder and CEO Marian Boček. The company is also advancing next-generation sodium-ion cells with partners Clarios and Altris, and participates in a European gigafactory joint venture with Gotion High-Tech.
Cartesian's Second SPAC Bets On Supply-Chain-Secure BESS
Cartesian II is an affiliate of Cartesian Capital Group, LLC, a New York private-equity firm. Cartesian II CEO Peter Yu framed InoBat as "almost uniquely well-situated to address growing demand for battery storage in a world of heightened attention to supply chain security," citing InoBat's roster of strategic backers Rio Tinto, Amara Raja, Gotion High-Tech / Volkswagen Group and Slovak Investment Holding. If the merger closes as planned, InoBat will join a growing cohort of energy-storage names using the SPAC track to Wall Street — following recent moves by Factorial Energy's Nasdaq debut and other clean-tech listings.
Data-Center BESS Race Heats Up
The InoBat listing lands as gigawatt-scale BESS becomes a strategic input for AI infrastructure. Recent weeks alone have seen Core Scientific and AMD sign a $14B 2.5 GW AI infrastructure pact and AMD lock in a 2 GW deal with Anthropic — all of it hungry for the kind of long-duration, resilient storage InoBat's BESSMONT platform is designed to sell.
Reporting based on coverage from GlobeNewswire, Energy-Storage.News, TechStartups and IndexBox.