Solid-state battery component developer Natrion has announced that it has been selected for two Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts from the US Air Force: a Phase I from Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) and a Phase II from AFWERX, the Air Force’s innovation arm. These contracts come as the company has also named a new Chief Operating Officer (COO) and been accepted to a defense accelerator.
These two new government contracts, worth more than $1.5M in total, represent the next step in Natrion’s long-standing collaboration with the US Department of Defense (DoD). Previously, Natrion had been awarded two other SBIRs from AFWERX as well as a Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) contract from the Naval Air Systems Command.
“The DoD remains one of our most crucial partners and we are honored to have had our proposals selected given how competitive these awards are,” said Alex Kosyakov, cofounder and CEO of Natrion. “These technologies are also highly relevant: the quality and effectiveness of what we deliver to the Air Force and prime contractors will be directly transferable to our solutions for consumer electronics, electric vehicles, eVTOLs, and stationary energy storage systems.”
Natrion’s new Phase I for AFGSC will concentrate on the delivery of bespoke solid-state Li-metal batteries providing low-temperature operability and shape-changing capability. The new batteries will pair Natrion’s Lithium Solid Ionic Composite (LISIC) with thin lithium metal anode for mechanical flexibility to fit the irregular, aerodynamic shapes of systems and platforms in support of the Air Force’s efforts to upgrade aging assets with new advanced electronics.
In the company’s Phase II effort, Natrion and its subcontractors and partners will seek to increase the durability of tactical electronics and directed energy weapons. LISIC-based Li-metal batteries offer up to 50% more energy density than state-of-the-art rechargeable Li-ion batteries while also mitigating thermal runaway.
These contracts come as Natrion has appointed a new COO, John Fox, who joins the company with over 30 years of experience from the telecommunications and battery industries — most recently as a founder and the Director of Business Development at UK-based battery manufacturer AMTE Power. In his role as COO, Fox will focus on spearheading Natrion’s commercialization strategy and leading manufacturing ramp-up and deployment of LISIC and other products.
