Shares in a Welsh car battery firm nearly tripled after it hired three former Tesla executives.
DG Innovate surged 176 per cent after it named Peter Bardenfleth-Hansen as chief executive while Christian Eidem and Jochen Rudat will join as executive directors.
All three have previously worked at the US electric car giant, with Bardenfleth-Hansen and Rudat holding senior roles at Tesla’s European teams.
Eidem, a former venture capitalist, worked as an advisor to both Tesla and its billionaire boss, Elon Musk.
As part of the reshuffle, DG Innovate’s chief Peter Tierney will become an executive director.
Power up: Welsh car battery firm DG Innovate surged 176% after it named Peter Bardenfleth-Hansen as chief exec while Christian Eidem and Jochen Rudat will join as executive directors
Chairman Nick Tulloch lauded the trio’s ‘world-class track record in the electric vehicle and mobility sector’.
The appointments are a major boost to the UK’s tech sector, which has been accused of failing to attract talent in recent years.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: ‘Most people will have never heard of DG Innovate yet the stock was certainly shouting from the rooftop as the market opened.
‘This tiny company delivered the type of news that sends small cap investors into a frenzy.’
DG Innovate, which develops batteries and electric motors, also said it has raised £2.4million in funding to help the ‘development and commercialisation’ of the company’s technology.
This sum is more than half the company’s value as of Friday last week when it was worth around £4.6million.
Based in Caerphilly, the group is developing sodium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, which are a potentially cheaper and safer alternative to widely used lithium batteries.
Rivals in the field include AIM-listed AMTE Power and privately held Northvolt.
Shares added 0.08p to 0.12p.
#fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle#mobile {display:none} #fiveDealsWidget {display:block; float:left; clear:both; max-width:636px; margin:0; padding:0; line-height:120%; font-size:12px} #fiveDealsWidget div, #fiveDealsWidget a {margin:0; padding:0; line-height:120%; text-decoration: none; font-family:Arial, Helvetica ,sans-serif} #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitleBox {display:block; float:left; width:100%; background-color:#af1e1e; } #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitle {color:#fff; text-transform: uppercase; font-size:18px; font-weight:bold; margin:6px 10px 4px 10px; } #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {float:left; display:block; width:124px; margin-right:4px; margin-top:5px; background-color: #e3e3e3; min-height:200px;} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {margin-right:0} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle {display:block; margin:10px 5px; color:#000; font-weight:bold} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage img {float:left; display:block; margin:0; padding:0} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {border:1px solid #ccc} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage img {width:100%; height:auto} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemdesc {float:left; display:block; color:#004db3; font-weight:bold; margin:5px;} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemRate {float:left; display:block; color:#000; margin:5px} #fiveDealsWidget .dealFooter {display:block; float:left; width:100%; margin-top:5px; background-color:#e3e3e3 } #fiveDealsWidget .footerText {font-size:10px; margin:10px 10px 10px 10px;} @media (max-width: 635px) { #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {width:19%; margin-right:1%} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {width:20%} } @media (max-width: 560px) { #fiveDealsWidget #desktop {display:none;} #fiveDealsWidget #mobile {display:block!important} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {background-color: #fff; height:auto; min-height:auto} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {border-bottom:1px solid #ececec; margin-bottom:5px; padding-bottom:10px} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {border-bottom:0px solid #ececec; margin-bottom:5px; padding-bottom:0px} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem, #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {width:100%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {float:left; display:inline-block} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {width:35%; margin-right:1%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent {width:63%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle {margin: 0px 5px 5px; font-size:16px} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemdesc, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemRate {clear:both} }
