IONBLOX RAISES US$32 MLN IN SERIES B FUNDING

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 (Bernama) -- Ionblox, a next-generation lithium-ion battery company has announced a second close of its Series B round at an increased US$32 million with strategic partners include original investors Lilium and Applied Ventures who were joined by Temasek and Catalus Capital. (US$1=RM4.30)

In a statement, the company said the increased Series B funding would be used to scale its technology, develop advanced high-power cells for electric aviation and prototype fast-charge cells for electric vehicles (EVs).

“Here at Ionblox, we are commercialising next-generation lithium-ion batteries with pre-lithiated silicon dominant anodes in order to transform the future of electric mobility.

“The funding from this round will enable us to take an important step in our journey to scale our technology and set up our own cell manufacturing in the United States and other key markets,” said Ionblox chief executive officer, Sujeet Kumar.

To commercialise its next-generation technology, Ionblox has received a development contract from USABC to develop low-cost, fast-charge EV batteries where its cell performance has been verified by Idaho National Lab and is also partnering with leading semiconductor equipment manufacturer Applied Materials.

Ionblox’s batteries are developed with high-performance lithium-ion cells that have pre-lithiated silicon dominant anodes which can address the most demanding use cases such as electric vertical take-off and landing aircrafts.

The company’s pre-lithiated Silicon anode technology enables a groundbreaking combination of up to 50 per cent higher energy density, five times more power and an extreme fast charge of 10 minutes compared with conventional lithium-ion cells.

Founded in Fremont, California in 2017, Ionblox (previously known as Zenlabs) is a next-generation energy company transforming the future of mobility by land and air.

-- BERNAMA