TLDR:
UNIGRID Battery, a San Diego startup, raised $12 million in Series A funding led by Transition VC and Ritz Venture Capital. The company specializes in developing advanced sodium-ion batteries with high energy density and safety metrics that exceed traditional lithium iron phosphate batteries.
Summary:
UNIGRID Battery, based in San Diego, CA, secured $12 million in Series A funding from investors including Transition VC and Ritz Venture Capital to scale up its production of advanced sodium-ion batteries. The company, led by CEO Darren H. S. Tan, focuses on developing high energy density sodium-ion batteries using proprietary alloy anode technology. This technology addresses challenges in the sodium-ion market and allows UNIGRID’s batteries to exceed the energy density of lithium iron phosphate batteries.
One of the key aspects of UNIGRID’s technology is the elimination of critical or rare materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and copper from their battery chemistry, instead using only abundant materials. This not only reduces environmental impact but also improves the safety and performance metrics of the batteries, surpassing those of traditional lithium iron phosphate batteries.
CEO Darren H. S. Tan stated that advanced sodium-ion batteries will play a crucial role in enabling widespread energy storage in residential, commercial, and industrial markets. With commercial-scale orders already in place, UNIGRID plans to use the funding to expand manufacturing and customer fulfillment capabilities, positioning themselves as leaders in the sodium-ion battery technology space.
