Mitra Chem's New Strategic Investments Address U.S. Energy Resilience Through Onshoring of Critical Battery Supply Chains

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Nov. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mitra Future Technologies, Inc. ("Mitra Chem") a leading innovator in North American production of lithium-ion battery materials, today announced the participation of IQT, strategic investor for the U.S. national security community and its allies, in its $60M Series B equity round. IQT joins GM, TechMet Mercuria, and Zeon Ventures and a cohort of financial investors who previously announced participation in the first close of Mitra Chem's Series B. The investment will fuel Mitra Chem's mission to develop, deploy and commercialize U.S.-made iron-based cathode materials to enable the onshoring of critical battery materials for Western markets.

"Today's high energy density batteries demand large quantities of supply-constrained nickel and cobalt. Mitra Chem's proprietary machine learning-driven capabilities can significantly accelerate the lab-to-production timeline of alternative iron-based cathodes, benefitting the lithium-ion battery supply chain and supporting growing market demand for electric vehicle (EV) and grid electrification efforts," said Michael Falcon, an Investment Partner at IQT.

Alternatives to nickel and cobalt-based battery cathode materials are needed to address the U.S.'s path to a secure energy future. In response to rising geopolitical concerns associated with battery supply chains, the U.S. government has actively pursued numerous initiatives aimed at growing, on-shoring, and safeguarding underlying industries within the battery materials supply chain. The passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law ("BIL") and Inflation Reduction Act ("IRA"), which allocated funding, tax credits, and other incentives towards domestic production, emphasizes the U.S. government's commitment to reducing American electrification and grid infrastructure reliance on foreign suppliers while promoting domestic innovation of critical clean energy technologies.

Mitra Chem's Lithium Iron Phosphate ("LFP") and Lithium Iron Manganese Phosphate ("LMFP") cathode products are domestically produced and will offer superior safety features, reduced production costs, and have cleaner sourcing compared to traditional cathode technologies.

"Mitra Chem is not only assisting the U.S. strengthen domestic battery supply chains for today's LFP and LMFP cathodes but is also utilizing our in proprietary machine learning platform to develop and commercialize the next generation of materials that will power the batteries of tomorrow. With the support of IQT's investment, Mitra Chem is pushing to the forefront of U.S. battery materials production, ensuring U.S. energy security and technological self-sufficiency for decades to come," said Vivas Kumar, CEO of Mitra Chem.

About:

IQT is the not-for-profit strategic investor the national security community has relied upon for nearly 25 years to anticipate their technology questions and needs and achieve solutions. IQT identifies, evaluates, and leverages emerging commercial technologies to deliver best-in-class capabilities, insights, and other services to government partners through a unique global investment platform. For more information visit www.iqt.org.

Mitra Chem is building the first North American lithium-ion battery materials 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 are a necessary alternative due to the imminent supply crunches that nickel and cobalt rich cathodes will continue to face. 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.