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Polarium manufactures smart connected lithium-ion batteries that power portable masts, and can replace many of the diesel generators and lead batteries that often power masts today.

One of our customers saves seven million liters of diesel per month using our products. If you look at the entire lifespan of mobile masts, says Stefan Jansson, that means a billion liters less diesel fuel — for the customer.

growth that costs

Since its inception in 2015, Polarium has installed more than 250,000 batteries in more than 60 countries. This year, sales are expected to reach SEK 1.25 billion. Six years later, the company has three offices in Sweden, factories in Mexico and Vietnam, sales offices in the United States and sales and technical support in England, New Zealand, Indonesia and several African countries. It’s an incredible growth journey – and it has cost a lot.

We have massive cash flow and rapid growth – add the two parameters and you’ll get an idea of ​​our need for operating credits. This was a real challenge for us at first when we didn’t have a history to show to the lenders, and we also do a lot of business in the risk markets, so we turned to EKN.

Combine different guarantees

State-owned EKN exists to assist Swedish export companies and their subcontractors, through various types of guarantees. Polarium used three EKN financing solutions:

For general expansion investments, they used EKN’s operating credit guarantee, which means EKN covered 50 percent of the bank’s credit risk. This made it easier for the bank to dare to agree to Polarium’s credit needs.

For transactions in risk markets, Polarium used the EKN letter of credit guarantee. The bank can apply for the secured letter of credit when you have the so-called letter of credit, i.e. the local bank of the buyer guarantees the payment of the seller on delivery. The letter of guarantee covers the risk of the local bank not being able to pay.

Polarium also used an EKN guarantee of accounts receivable for specific transactions, which covers the risk of the buyer not being able to pay the bill. With the help of escrow, Polarium can also go to their bank and get the bill paid in advance, which means they can offer customer credit without having to wait for payment to be made.

Reduce risk and free up capital

We do a lot of business in risk markets so it is reassuring to be able to discount both political risk and currency risk. In addition, we were able to free up capital with the help of these guarantees. Collaborating with EKN has allowed us to focus on our core operations, and has been incredibly valuable to us, says Stefan Jansson.

Read more about how EKN is helping Swedish export companies grow