Bricks Capital Management Press Release – Investment in Mitra Chem (Aug 2023)

Written By Taeyeon Terry Lee

Bricks Capital Management participates in a $60 million Series B round of Mitra Chem, a leading innovator in North American production of lithium-ion battery materials, along with GM Ventures

  • Mitra Chem is developing a portfolio of Iron-Based Cathodes for Tier-1 Automotive and Energy Storage Supply Chains

  • Mitra Chem is the only U.S. Based Company Producing IRA Consumer Tax Credit Eligible Next Generation Iron-Based Cathodes

  • Series B Funding will be used for investing in accelerating commercialization and scaling partnerships

(Photo: PR Newswire)

Mountain View, California – Bricks Capital Management (“BCM”) closed its investment in Mitra Chem, a leading innovator in North American production of lithium-ion battery materials. This represents BCM’s second investment from the recently held the first close of BCM Global Battery Fund I, an EV & ESS battery focused private equity fund backed by leading Korean companies in the EV & ESS battery sector.

As part of the partnership with GM, Mitra Chem will develop iron-based cathode active materials (CAM) like lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP) to power affordable and accessible EV batteries compatible with GM's EV propulsion architecture, the Ultium Platform. GM's funding will enable Mitra Chem to scale its current R&D and pilot operations to expedite bringing their battery materials to market.

Mitra Chem has been at the forefront of battery technology research, focusing on developing sustainable and high-performance energy storage solutions.

  • Mitra Chem's proprietary technology and development process shortens the lab-to-market timeline by >90%

  • Mitra Chem is one of the only companies taking a multi-faceted approach by combining R&D, machine learning acceleration, and manufacturing to supply battery materials to OEM and battery cell customers

  • Mitra Chem's battery R&D facility can synthesize and test thousands of cathode designs monthly, ranging in size from grams to kilograms – these processes drive significantly shortened learning cycles, enabling shorter time to market for new battery cell formulas

  • An "atoms-to-tons acceleration platform" powers Mitra Chem's lab, using simulations and physics-informed machine learning models to accelerate formulation discovery, cathode synthesis optimization, cell-lifetime evaluation and process scale-up. The in-house cloud platform, purpose-built for battery cathode development, automates data ingestion across diverse synthesis, material characterization, cell prototyping and standardized analyses and visualizations

Lithium-ion batteries are one of the key platform technologies enabling electrification in transportation, and consumer electronics, along with residential, commercial, and grid-scale energy storage. Mitra Chem is positioned to disrupt the global production and supply chain of these vital battery materials and revitalize the North American battery supply chain industry.

The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has supercharged demand for U.S.-made battery materials by offering consumer tax credits tied to domestically manufactured material usage. Mitra Chem is one of the only U.S.-based iron-based cathode manufacturers that enable purchasers of U.S.-made electric vehicles to qualify for the full suite of tax credits passed in the IRA.

The company today said it has additional requests for samples to cover the next year of production including nearly every global Tier 1 battery cell maker and multiple household name automotive OEMs.

"GM's investment in Mitra Chem will not only help us develop affordable battery chemistries for use in GM vehicles but also will fuel our mission to develop, deploy and commercialize U.S. made, iron-based cathode materials that can power EVs, grid-scale electrified energy storage and beyond," said Mitra Chem CEO and Co-Founder Vivas Kumar.

"This is a strategic investment that will further help reinforce GM's efforts in EV batteries, accelerate our work on affordable battery chemistries like LMFP and support our efforts to build a North America-focused battery supply chain," said Gil Golan, GM vice president, Technology Acceleration Commercialization. "GM is accelerating larger investments in critical subdomains of battery technology, like cell chemistry, components and advanced cell production processes. Mitra Chem's labs, tools and talent will fit well with our own R&D team's work."

The growing strategic relationship with GM will enable Mitra Chem to leverage GM's industry expertise and global reach, accelerating the development and commercialization of its iron-based cathode technology. The additional funding will go to scale current operations and support accelerating commercialization.

In addition to GM, other notable investors participating in the Series B funding round include incumbents such as Social Capital, Fontinalis Partners, Earthshot Ventures, The Keffi Group, Boutique Venture Partners, and new investors such as GS Futures, Bricks Capital Management, Zeon Ventures, Scribble VC, WovenEarth Ventures, Bonds Investment Group, and others. The involvement of these esteemed investors underscores the industry's recognition of Mitra Chem's groundbreaking technology and its potential to shape the future of battery energy storage with a focus on US-based production.

The involvement of both financial and strategic investors underscores the industry's recognition of Mitra Chem's groundbreaking technology and its potential to shape the future of battery energy storage with a focus on US-based production. In November 2021, the company completed a $20 million Series A round which was led by Social Capital and Chamath Palihapitiya along with Taiwanese industrialist Richard Tsai, Fontinalis Partners, Boutique Venture Partners, Integrated Energy Materials, and Earthshot Ventures.

For more information on Mitra Chem’s Series B round, please see Mitra Chem and GM’s press releases.

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.

To learn more, please visit www.mitrachem.com. 

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE: GM) is a global company focused on advancing an all-electric future that is inclusive and accessible to all. At the heart of this strategy is the Ultium battery platform, which powers everything from mass-market to high-performance vehicles. General Motors, its subsidiaries and its joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Baojun and Wuling brands.

More information on GM and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety and security services, can be found at https://www.gm.com.

About Bricks Capital Management

Bricks Capital Management (“BCM”), founded in 2022, is a private equity firm based in South Korea. Backed by leading Korean companies in the EV & ESS battery sector, BCM specializes in partnering with global businesses in the electric vehicle battery and the mobility technology sectors that have leadership in safety, sustainability, and manufacturing innovation. The team is composed of investment professionals with specialized knowledge in the sectors and strong investment track record.

BCM recently held the first close of its EV battery-focused global private equity fund, BCM Global Battery Fund I (“GBF I”). As evidenced by BCM’s investment in Mitra Chem, GBF I will focus on opportunities to partner exceptional founding teams with BCM’s network of leading players in the EV battery sector. BCM operates teams in Seoul and Silicon Valley with a focus on bridging valuable partnerships in U.S-Korea battery supply chains and creating value creation opportunities for portfolio companies.

For additional information about Bricks Capital Management, please visit BCM’s website at brickscm.com.

Taeyeon Terry Lee