USA – Ionblox, a Fremont, CA-based lithium-ion battery company, increased its Series B funding to $32M.
The round was led by Lilium and Applied Ventures with participation from Temasek and Catalus Capital. The company intends to use the funds to scale its technology, develop advanced high-power cells for electric aviation, and prototype fast-charge cells for Electric Vehicles.Founded in 2017 and led by CEO Sujeet Kumar, Ionblox (previously known as Zenlabs) is an energy company focused on mobility by land and air. The company’s batteries are developed with high-performance lithium-ion cells that have pre-lithiated silicon dominant anodes. The batteries can address the most demanding use cases such as electric Vertical Take-off and Landing Aircrafts or eVTOL. Ionblox’s pre-lithiated Silicon anode technology enables a combination of high energy density, more power, and an extreme fast charge of 10 minutes compared with conventional lithium-ion cells. Ionblox is currently producing its large format pouch cells of up to 50Ah on its pilot production lines.The company has more than 40 issued patents, including for the pre-lithiation of all types of silicon-based anodes. Its proprietary pre-lithiated silicon anode and cell design enable multiple performance attributes – fast charging, energy, power, and long life at low cost. To commercialize its next-generation technology, Ionblox has received a development contract from USABC to develop low-cost, fast-charge electric vehicle batteries where its cell performance has been verified by Idaho National Lab and is also partnering with leading semiconductor equipment manufacturer Applied Materials.08/02/2023
