Nascent Materials: Advancing LFP Battery Technology

The Declining Cost of Lithium-Ion Batteries and a New Approach to Cathode Production

Over the last ten years, the cost of lithium-ion batteries has experienced a significant reduction of 75%. This advancement isn't attributable to a single, revolutionary discovery, but rather to a series of numerous, incremental enhancements achieved through dedicated research and development.

Nascent Materials: A Focus on Manufacturing Improvements

Chaitanya Sharma, the founder of Nascent Materials, possesses firsthand knowledge of this evolution. He previously dedicated over two years to working at Tesla’s Gigafactory located in Nevada, followed by another two years leading operations at iM3NY, a lithium-ion battery manufacturer based in New York.

Since departing from iM3NY in November 2023, Sharma has concentrated his efforts on innovating a novel method for processing cathode materials utilized in lithium-ion batteries. This represents one of those subtle improvements poised to further decrease production costs.

Potential Benefits of Nascent’s Process

Nascent’s newly developed process has the potential to enhance the energy density of the cathode by as much as 12%, while simultaneously reducing manufacturing costs by 30%.

“My primary objective isn’t to pursue the development of entirely new, complex chemistries,” Sharma explained to TechCrunch. “Instead, I aim to devise innovative methods for material production.”

Seed Funding and Initial Focus

Sharma’s emphasis on manufacturing has successfully attracted initial investment. Nascent recently secured $2.3 million in a seed funding round, spearheaded by SOSV, as exclusively reported to TechCrunch. The New Jersey Innovation Evergreen Fund and UM6P Ventures also contributed to this funding.

The startup’s initial efforts are centered on the production of lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) and lithium-manganese-iron-phosphate (LMFP), two cathode materials that are increasingly favored by both automotive manufacturers and data center operators.

Addressing Challenges in Material Consistency

Recent advancements have narrowed the energy density gap between LFP and higher-end chemistries based on nickel and cobalt, all while maintaining significantly lower costs.

However, opportunities for further improvement remain. Sharma highlighted that maintaining consistent material quality presented a significant challenge during his time at iM3NY, ultimately contributing to the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in January.

Supply Chain Inequities and the Need for Consistent Quality

The root of the issue lies in disparities within the supply chain. Larger entities, such as Tesla’s Gigafactory – operated in collaboration with Panasonic – generally receive materials with greater consistency, according to Sharma. “Smaller companies, despite investing $100 million to $200 million in their facilities, often receive materials that fall outside of standard specifications.”

“This realization was the driving force behind the launch of Nascent Materials,” Sharma stated, “as I am committed to ensuring a consistent material supply for all customers.”

Nascent’s Innovative Processing Technique

Cathode material typically exists as a powder, and while it may appear uniform, subtle variations in grain size can significantly impact the final product. Nascent has developed a process that utilizes less energy and simultaneously produces particles with more consistent size and shape.

This allows for denser packing of the material, leading to improved energy density.

Supply Chain Advantages and Future Expansion

The process also provides additional benefits to the supply chain. It can accommodate the use of lower-purity raw materials, thereby expanding access to domestic sources.

While Nascent is currently focused on LFP and LMFP, Sharma indicated that the company intends to broaden its scope to include other chemistries, such as nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) and lithium-manganese-rich (LMR), the latter of which GM plans to introduce in 2028.

Reducing Reliance on China

This domestic focus directly addresses a critical industry dependency. Currently, the overwhelming majority of cathode material production takes place in China.

“The question became, how can we reduce our dependence on China for these materials?” Sharma explained. “Our core focus is on streamlining the supply chain to enable the utilization of locally sourced raw materials, which ultimately drives down costs.”