Mitra Chem attracts investment from Zeon Corp.
The US startup developing cathode materials for LFP batteries, Mitra Chem, has garnered an investment of an undisclosed sum from Japan-based chemical manufacturer Zeon Corporation.
Zeon says it will work with Mitra Chem by developing an electrode process suitable for Mitra Chem’s battery materials. The Japanese chemicals company says it will utilise its expertise in designing binders and evaluating and analyzing lithium-ion batteries to create a low-cost electrode process suitable for Mitra Chem’s cathode materials.
Mitra Chem is aiming for the large-scale commercial production of LFP batteries. The US startup utilises its proprietary machine-learning platform to develop cathode materials for LFP batteries. According to Zeon, Mitra Chem is also developing high-volume, low-cost cathode materials for next-generation batteries with even higher energy density than LFP batteries.
Just days ago, Mitra Chem announced an investment from General Motors, whereby the two US companies aim to develop iron-based cathode materials such as lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP) for batteries compatible with General Motors’ Ultium electric car platform. The aim is to accelerate work on “affordable battery chemistries like LMFP and support our efforts to build a US-focused battery supply chain,” said Gil Golan, GM Vice President of technology acceleration and commercialisation, last week.
On its website, Mitra Chem also prominently places its goal of “innovating towards a sustainable, North American battery materials supply chain.” Now that Zeon has invested in the US startup, the Japanese chemicals company says it has plans to explore future collaborations associated with this investment without disclosing further details.
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