WOBURN, Mass., June 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Feon Energy, an advanced battery electrolyte startup spun out of Stanford University, announced the recent closing of a $6.1 million seed round that will enable the development of next-gen batteries. The round was led by Fine Structure Ventures, with participation from Eight Roads, Foothill Ventures, MassVentures, EPS Ventures, and Valkyrie Fund.
The new funding will allow Feon to expand its world-class R&D team, scale up its high-throughput molecular discovery platform, and accelerate commercial engagement with leading battery and automotive players.
“Electrolytes are the key enabler for unlocking next-generation batteries but have been a major bottleneck holding back their commercialization,” said Wenxiao Huang, co-founder, and CEO of Feon Energy. “Our pharma-inspired molecule design platform allows us to invent new electrolyte molecules tailored for each chemistry’s unique needs, rather than force-fitting existing materials.”
Feon Energy is pioneering a platform approach to create new electrolyte molecules and formulations purposefully designed for advanced battery chemistries like lithium-metal and cobalt-free ultra-high-voltage lithium-ions. Their non-flammable liquid electrolyte solutions enable advanced batteries with higher energy density, improved safety, lower cost, and more supply chain resilience than today’s lithium-ion batteries.
Feon’s electrolyte platform technology offers unique advantages, including the ability to simultaneously address multiple future chemistries, seamless integration into existing battery manufacturing processes for fast scaling, and a molecular-level understanding that enables continuous innovation.
“Electrolytes are a critical piece of the battery puzzle that has been underserved and overlooked for too long,” said Jennifer Uhrig, Senior Managing Director at Fine Structure Ventures. “Feon’s innovative molecular approach positions them to play a key enabling role in commercializing advanced batteries across multiple chemistries and applications.”
Since launching in late 2022, Feon has rapidly achieved key milestones. As its first product, Feon has developed lithium-metal batteries with energy densities over 400 Wh/kg, 50% higher than today’s lithium-ion batteries. It has begun to ship such pre-A samples to leading automotive, aviation, and consumer electronics OEMs. Critically, these lithium-metal cells have obtained UN 38.3 safety certification – an international standard for safely transporting lithium batteries. Meeting UN 38.3 requirements through rigorous third-party testing confirms that Feon’s batteries can withstand extreme conditions like short-circuiting, crushing, vibration, forced discharge, and exposure to high temperatures. This critically important safety validation paves the way for commercial deployment of Feon’s high-energy lithium-metal solution.
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SOURCE Feon Energy, Inc.
