Mitra Chem Expands Global Presence, Launches First International Office in Seoul to Prioritize Customer Reach
From left to right: Kipil Lim (Senior Scientist), Maxwell Kushner-Lenhoff (Head of Commercial), Vivas Kumar (CEO & Co-founder), Woojin Cho (Senior Manager, Strategic Partnerships, Founding Member, Korea Office)
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Jan. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mitra Future Technologies, Inc. ("Mitra Chem"), a leading innovator in North American production of lithium-ion battery materials, today announced the opening of its inaugural international office in Seoul, South Korea. This strategic move marks a pivotal milestone in Mitra Chem's global expansion, entering a market with three of the top six battery manufacturers, reinforcing its commitment to fostering customer-focused innovation and strengthening partnerships with global industry veterans supplying into the rapidly evolving battery industry.
The opportunity to work with industry-leading South Korean battery manufacturers, as well as materials and specialty chemicals partners on Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)-compliant battery materials supply is increasingly relevant and further bolstered by direct government financing from both countries. During an official state visit to Washington, D.C. last year, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol expressed his support for such partnerships when he stated, "President Biden and I welcome the expansion of our firms' bilateral mutual investment and advanced technology including semiconductors, electric vehicles, and batteries."
In addition, similar to the U.S. government's approval of financing initiatives through the IRA, President Yoon's administration recently announced a $29 billion financing initiative over the next five years to fortify its battery industry and reduce dependency on China, which currently controls the majority of the battery supply chain.
"South Korea is an important country for the global lithium-ion battery supply chain, the U.S. IRA, and Mitra Chem's future. We are proud to recognize this importance by opening our first-ever international office in Seoul. We look forward to deepening our strong business relationships with multiple South Korean financial and strategic partners as we transition our product focus into IRA-compliant commercial production.," says Mitra Chem CEO Vivas Kumar.
South Korean office team members will complement the Mitra Chem team at their 17k sq. ft state of the art cathode and cell R&D facility in Mountain View, California.
About Mitra Chem
Mitra Chem is building the first North American lithium-ion battery materials product company that shortens the lab-to-production timeline by over 90%. Lithium-ion batteries are the key platform technology enabling electrification in transportation, consumer electronics, along with residential, commercial, and grid-scale energy storage. Mitra Chem's first product category is iron-based cathodes for Western battery applications. Iron-based cathodes shift away from the use of elements such as nickel and cobalt, which are facing imminent supply crunches. Mitra Chem takes cathode products from lab to industrial scale faster than the competition by leveraging an in-house machine learning technology advantage to dramatically shorten the R&D timeline. The company's goal is to transform the cathode from a specialty chemical to a platform technology that differentiates cell performance by end application.
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SOURCE Mitra Chem
