CARBON Revolution Ltd, formerly an Australian listed company, has seen a strong surge in investor interest since its listing on the US NASDAQ on November 3.

The company went public in the US – as Carbon Revolution plc and a ticker code of CREV – through a merger with SPAC Twin Ridge Capital Acquisition Corporation. 

Now it has announced an initial $US70 million ($A108.85m) investment, from a facility of up to $US110 million ($A171m), to expand the business of manufacturing lightweight carbon-fibre wheels from its facility in Geelong.

Carbon Revolution previously announced a new board of directors, including former General Motors vice chairman Bob Lutz and Ford vice president Jacqueline Dedo.

It has already secured 18 vehicle programs for six global OEMs, including Ford, General Motors, Renault, Ferrari and Jaguar Land Rover.

The share price opened at $US7.45 ($A11.58) on November 3 and immediately jumped to a high of $US197.99 ($A307.87) before settling around $US90 ($A139.95) with an average daily trading volume of about 16,000 shares. Its share price in Australia in the past year ranged from A12c to $A1.16.

Carbon Revolution has entered into a structured equity facility with investment firm Orion Infrastructure Capital (OIC) that is providing the facility of up to $US110 million ($A171m). OIC has $US3.5 billion ($A5.44b) in assets under management.

Carbon Revolution’s CEO Jake Dingle said in a statement that: “The Structured Equity Facility from OIC is a key pillar supporting our long-term business strategy to further expand our global footprint among leading OEMs.”

OIC investment partner Chris Leary said: “We are thrilled to initiate our capital partnership with Carbon Revolution to support the company’s continued growth and innovation in automotive efficiency, EV range extension and overall performance with the funding of the Structured Equity Facility and listing on Nasdaq.”

The OIC funds includes its initial $US35 million ($A54.4m) investment, plus a $US60 million ($A93.3m) Committed Equity Facility from Yorkville Advisors (which is subject to specific conditions).

The remaining $US35 million ($A54.4m) from OIC’s initial investment has been allocated to an escrow account with release milestones anticipated to be met through 2024.

There is an additional $US40 million ($A62.2m) accessible under OIC’s $US110 million Structured Equity Facility which is dependent on reaching future growth milestones and the approval of OIC’s investment committee.

Prior to its NASDAQ listing, Carbon Revolution received a $A12 million grant from the Australian government to progress with its ‘mega line’ production facility in Geelong.