Licovolt Set to Create 10 New Jobs Following Seed Investment from Davencor Holdings

- Founder of Davenham Switchgear to assist company with international scaling strategy

(opens in a new window)Licovolt, a University College Dublin (UCD) spin-out company supported by NovaUCD, today announced that it is set to create 10 new jobs following a seed investment (undisclosed) from Davencor Holdings, established by John Corcoran, the founder and former CEO of Davenham Switchgear.

Davenham, founded in 1982 and headquartered in Dublin, is a market leader of electrical distribution and control solutions for major industries, including datacentres, and was last year acquired by the Legrand Group, headquartered in France.

Licovolt’s technology is a novel chemical compound and associated process used to extract critical minerals from spent battery material at a fraction of the cost and emissions of current methods. The technology enables the recycling of these materials and creates a global opportunity for OEMs who manufacture cathode active material (CAM) which is required for the electric vehicle (EV) and data centre industries.

Clint Zahmel, Executive Director, Licovolt said, “This investment by Davencor Holdings will enable the company to rapidly advance our strategic technology development roadmap to ensure that business development opportunities are grasped quickly given the scale of the global opportunity for Licovolt’s technology. Additionally following this investment, we plan to create up to 10 new jobs over the next two years, in the areas of international business development, finance, chemical engineering and battery innovation.”

He added, “It is estimated that datacentres worldwide will need to recycle up to two million Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) battery systems over the next five years, and given John’s deep understanding of the electrical and datacentre industries, together with his proven track record of building successful businesses internationally, makes him an invaluable partner as we develop and implement our international scaling strategy.”

John Corcoran, CEO, Davencor Holdings said, “Licovolt represents a really exciting opportunity in the field of battery recycling. The team’s innovative approach and very strong technical foundation positions them well for significant growth in this evolving market.”

The Licovolt technology emerged after three years of intensive research, partly funded by Research Ireland, following a breakthrough chemical discovery led by Associate Professor Tony Keene, UCD School of Chemistry, in partnership with Associate Professor Steven Ferguson, UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, the company’s co-founders.

Earlier this year Licovolt entered into a formal joint development agreement with Pure Battery Technologies (PBT), headquartered in Australia with operations in Hagen, Germany. This partnership with PBT will support the rapid advancement of Licovolt’s technology.

ENDS

1 July 2025

For further information contact Micéal Whelan, Communications and Media Relations Manager, UCD Research and Innovation, NovaUCD, e: (opens in a new window)miceal.whelan@ucd.ie or Clint Zahmel, Licovolt, e: (opens in a new window)clint@licovolt.com.

Editors Notes

Financial and Tax DD for Davencor Holdings Unlimited Company: Patrick Thorpe, Searing Point Chartered Accountants.

Legal advisors for Licovolt Limited: Eoghan Browne and Mark Lyons, A&L Goodbody LLP.

For further information about Licovolt visit (opens in a new window)https://licovolt.com/