Ionblox Raises US$32 Million in Series B Funding

Ionblox, a California-based lithium-ion battery company, has raised US$32 million in Series B funding, with investment from German electric taxi startup Lilium.

Other investors include Applied Ventures, Temasek and Catalus Capital, which will support Ionblox in advancing battery technology for electric aviation.

The company’s high-performance lithium-ion cells with pre-lithiated silicon dominant anodes can address the most demanding use cases such as electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The batteries, which can be charged in ten minutes, provide five times the power given by conventional lithium-ion cells.

Sujeet Kumar, chief executive officer, Ionblox said “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 U.S. and other key markets.”

Ionblox, previously known as Zenlabs, was founded in 2017 and has more than 40 issued patents, including for the pre-lithiation of all types of silicon-based anodes. The company has received a development contract from the United States Advanced BatteryConsortium (USABC) and is partnering with semiconductor equipment manufacturer Applied Materials.

Battery technology has always been a crucial factor to commercialize electric vehicles in the future. To bring aircraft up to the sky using electricity, the battery must provide enough power while not being too heavy to lift. Global Sky Media studied The Key Things to Know about eVTOL Batteries in its 2022 AAM report.

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