General Motors (GM) has taken a significant stride in the electric vehicle (EV) arena by spearheading a $60 million Series B funding round for Mitra Chem, a promising battery materials startup. The partnership is aimed at driving the development of more affordable and accessible EV batteries, aligning with GM’s mission to streamline its battery supply chain and advance its EV goals.
In the race to lower EV costs and facilitate broader consumer adoption, innovations in battery technology play a pivotal role. GM’s latest investment underscores its commitment to establishing a U.S.-centric battery supply chain. The company has already dedicated $13.5 billion to the creation of four battery factories in the U.S., collectively projected to have a capacity of 165 gigawatt-hours annually by 2026.
One of GM’s strategic focuses is the Ultium platform, its cutting-edge electric architecture that features an innovative battery design. This platform serves as the bedrock for GM’s EV ambitions and accommodates a diverse range of future vehicle models.
GM’s collaboration with Mitra Chem aims to revolutionize cathode active materials, particularly iron-based options like lithium manganese iron phosphate. These materials hold the promise of delivering more efficient charging, increased capacity, and prolonged battery life. Unlike the common cathodes composed of nickel and cobalt, iron-based cathodes have the advantage of being more sustainable due to their materials being readily available.
Mitra Chem brings a distinct approach to the table, harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) to simulate, synthesize, and test thousands of cathode designs on a monthly basis. This innovative AI-driven methodology significantly shortens the time required for new battery cell formulations to reach the market, reducing it by around 90%.
The startup’s unique cloud platform captures data throughout Mitra Chem’s operations, from material creation and property analysis to cell testing and result evaluation. This comprehensive approach facilitates consistent data visualization and interpretation, which fuels Mitra Chem’s AI models to learn and adapt.
Vivas Kumar, CEO and co-founder of Mitra Chem, expressed excitement about GM’s investment, stating that it will not only contribute to the development of affordable battery chemistries for GM vehicles but also drive the creation and commercialization of iron-based cathode materials that can power EVs, large-scale energy storage solutions, and beyond.
As the EV landscape continues to evolve, this collaboration holds the potential to pave the way for more accessible and sustainable EVs, making strides toward a greener automotive future.
