Nyobolt kickstarts niobium-based electric battery future with $10m fundraise

Nyobolt, the Bradfield Centre-based battery company which began life as CB2Tech in 2019, has raised $10m in a Series A investment round.

The company has developed a proprietary process using niobium-based anode materials to create batteries that deliver record high power, ultrafast charge and high energy. The world-leading charge and discharge rate capability of Nyobolt batteries, extensively recorded in academic journals, presents a huge opportunity to supercharge the electric revolution. The batteries also address other major challenges facing much existing technology, as they operate within a wide temperature range and are highly durable.

The funding will enable Nyobolt to expand globally, building new facilities and growing the engineering and operational teams, which work with customers to implement and integrate the unique technology into commercial applications to solve their battery challenges.

“We were CB2Tech until a few weeks ago,” says Professor Clare Grey, who co-founded the company with Kent Griffith and CEO Dr Sai Shivareddy. “We had to change the name for strategic reasons.

“We’ve been going one and a half years but were talking about it for a long time. I’m the chief scientist, my main focus remains my studies at the Department of Chemistry.

“I’m an electro-chemist and a solid state chemist, and part of my work is funded by the UK’s Faraday Institution [headquartered in Didcot], where I’m working on battery degradation and how to keep car batteries running longer.

“Nuclear magnetic resonance is one of my specialities – but my real expertise is to understand how battery materials work for next-generation batteries.”

The company – currently 25 strong – is rapidly expanding its global technical and commercial presence, with teams in the UK, the US and collaborators in Asia, with decades of experience at Tesla, Samsung, Dupont and Dyson. Martin Frost is one of the company’s directors.

Its new technology allows batteries to charge faster, deliver more power and work at extreme temperatures, meaning they can be deployed in places current batteries simply do not work.

The world-leading charge and discharge rate capability of Nyobolt batteries, extensively recorded in academic journals, presents a huge opportunity to supercharge the electric revolution.

The batteries also address other major challenges facing much existing technology, as they operate within a wide temperature range and are highly durable.

Dr Shivareddy said: “Nyobolt batteries remove the limitations presented by conventional lithium-ion batteries. They are perfect for applications that require high power and ultra-fast charge. The recorded performance of our batteries represents a paradigm shift in battery technology and we are pleased to play our part in accelerating a greener, more efficient future, powered by world-class batteries.”

The $10m has been led by IQ Capital with participation from Cambridge Enterprise and Silicon Valley investors.

Max Bautin, managing partner, IQ Capital, said: “Nyobolt is a ‘new gen’ deeptech start-up founded by a highly experienced team with multiple prior successes; it is based on highly differentiated, patented and highly scalable technology.

“We are very impressed by the team, products and commercial traction to-date, and we are convinced that Nyobolt will have a revolutionary impact on Li-ion battery applications, and create new previously impossible uses in markets worth hundreds of billions of dollars a year.”

Cambridge Enterprise investment director Dr Elaine Loukes added: “When Clare and Sai first disclosed their discovery to Cambridge Enterprise nearly five years ago, we recognised that this would have the potential to be a paradigm shift in ultrafast battery charging. The importance and significance of this technology to the post-carbon world cannot be overstated. We have worked with the founders from patent application through to seed funding and now A-round funding and we are extremely excited to be part of the ongoing journey of this incredible company.”