Smart 3D electrode battery company wins Bloomberg Award

We wrote about Addionics and its smart 3D electrode battery in January for one of our ‘Electrons’ round-ups of electric boat news, after they landed $27M in funding for their promising technology. Now they have been selected a 2022 Pioneer by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) as one of “the 12 most impactful and original technology innovations for advancing the low-carbon economy.”

This is a big award. BNEF is the world’s leading publication about the future of energy, the technologies are reviewed and judges by a panel of cross-industry experts and Addionics is one of only twelve Pioneers selected from over 270 applications from around the world.

It could also mean big money. Maxwell Technologies, a 2012 BNEF Pioneer, was acquired by Tesla for over $200 million, and C3.ai went public after receiving the distinction in 2020. It is currently valued at over $2 billion.

Smart 3D electrode for any battery chemistry

“Addionics has developed an innovation to drive lithium-ion down the learning curve.” said Claire Curry, selection committee co-chair and global head of technology, industry & innovation research at BloombergNEF. “This innovation is particularly promising because it can be applied to any battery chemistry and could be commercialized faster than most new battery technologies because the innovation is based on physics (electrode design) rather than new chemistry innovations, which often require many more years of optimization,”

The innovation referred to is Addionics’ Smart 3D design for battery electrodes. Why would a 3D electrode be good for batteries? To be very simplistic, batteries are basically sandwiches with the ‘bread’ being copper foil on one side and aluminum foil on the other. The ‘filling’ layered between them is made up of the anode, cathode and electrolyte.

With a 3D structure, the flat sheets interlock like Lego pieces, rather than lying flat on top of each other, so the amount of material in the anodes and cathodes can be increased without increasing the distance between them. All of that increases both power and energy density.

For electric boats, more power density means more speed or more ability to move heavy things, and more energy density means more range. 

There are 3D batteries available now, but the key to the Addionics technology is a type of mesh or foam that can be applied to the copper and aluminum foils to provide the benefits of 3D architecture.

‘Battery innovation though physics is unique’

The altered foils can basically replace the regular ones, so this drop-in solution is compatible with existing battery manufacturing facilities and assembly lines. It can also be applied to any battery chemistry to give them the advantages of 3D electrodes. It holds especially big promise for LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) batteries.

Addionics also has a proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that accelerates battery development time and can optimize electrode designs while reducing production costs. Manufacturers can build high performance batteries at lower cost per kWh.

“Bloomberg has a rich history of identifying the startups that go on to become the world’s most successful cleantech companies,” said said Moshiel Biton, CEO and co-founder of Addionics. “We at Addionics are honored to be selected as a Bloomberg New Energy Pioneer from a field of such outstanding companies. It is a testament to our success in expanding the boundaries of battery innovation.”

“Addionics is in an exciting growth phase and are well-deserving of BNEF’s prestigious award” said Dr. David Deak, President of Marbex LLC and Addionics board director. “Approaching battery innovation through physics is unique, and offers huge potential for mass market applications. It’s a win-win for investors, with the ability to support ESG goals and enable electrification.”

With that $27 million Series A funding round from January, the company’s total funding is now $40 million. It will be used to expand the team, accelerate product development, and lay the groundwork for commercialization with the support of Addionics’ partners, which include automakers and tier 1 suppliers.