June 9, 2022

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Beltsville

MD

United States

Ion Storage Systems, Inc. announced the closing of its Series A funding round, exceeding its original target of $30 million. The company welcomed investments from Toyota Ventures, Tenaska, Bangchak Corporation and other investors, in addition to the investments from its lead investors.

"We are thrilled to add this exceptional group of investors and partners to our oversubscribed round to support ION's next phase of growth," said Ricky Hanna, ION's Chief Executive Officer. "As ION prepares to meet the overwhelming demand for safe, cost efficient and energy dense batteries, our team has grown to meet the challenge. ION's battery performance and safety far exceeds what traditional Lithium Ion can offer and will become the benchmark for battery design for decades to come."

"ION's bi-layer cell design is a breakthrough for the industry," said Lisa Coca, Climate Fund partner for Toyota Ventures. "The architecture addresses the technological barriers that have historically plagued solid state batteries, and it enables critical next-generation performance metrics for widespread adoption – including high-energy density, strong cycling performance, wide temperature range, and fast charging. We believe this is a game changing technology and are proud to support ION's expert team as they work to unlock the potential and power of solid-state batteries."

The investment will enable ION to expand its facility at its Beltsville, MD headquarters to commission and qualify a battery cell manufacturing line capable of producing 10MWh/yr of next-generation solid-state batteries. Production will initially be allocated to qualifying commercial cells for its first market customers, generating commercial revenue by the end of 2023. The Series A round will also accelerate the development projects ION has with multiple customers and partners in the consumer electronics, automotive, and stationary storage markets. Other investors in the round include GAINTECH Capital, Alumni Ventures Group, Z2Sixty Ventures, Climate Capital, and the University of Maryland Discovery Fund.