Beltsville-based Ion Storage Systems closes $30M Series A funding round

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Ion Storage Systems Inc. (ION) on Tuesday announced the closing of its Series A funding round, exceeding its original target of $30 million.

The Beltsville-based company welcomed investments from Toyota Ventures, Tenaska, Bangchak Corporation and other investors, in addition to the investments from its lead investors.

“We are thrilled to add this exceptional group of investors and partners to our oversubscribed round to support ION’s next phase of growth,” said Ricky Hanna, ION’s Chief Executive Officer. “As ION prepares to meet the overwhelming demand for safe, cost efficient and energy dense batteries, our team has grown to meet the challenge. ION’s battery performance and safety far exceeds what traditional Lithium Ion can offer and will become the benchmark for battery design for decades to come.”

The investment will enable ION to expand its facility at its Beltsville headquarters to commission and qualify a battery cell manufacturing line capable of producing 10MWh/yr of next-generation solid-state batteries. Production will initially be allocated to qualifying commercial cells for its first market customers, generating commercial revenue by the end of 2023.

The Series A round will also accelerate the development projects ION has with multiple customers and partners in the consumer electronics, automotive, and stationary storage markets. Other investors in the round include GAINTECH Capital, Alumni Ventures Group, Z2Sixty Ventures, Climate Capital and the University of Maryland Discovery Fund.

Ion Storage Systems manufactures high energy density, solid state lithium metal batteries that are intrinsically safe and require no external heating or compression. ION’s patented battery design is nonflammable, enables fast-charging capabilities, provides wide operating temperatures, reduces volume and weight of the cells, and is compatible with current and next generation cathodes, including high voltage cathodes that are nickel and cobalt-free. The versatility of ION’s technology allows it to design products for multiple markets including consumer electronics, electric vehicles, and grid storage customers.