Charged EVs | ION Storage Systems qualifies its solid-state battery cells with a customer—production to start this year

Solid-state batteries are gradually beginning to come out of the lab and into real-world use. Maryland-based ION Storage Systems started shipping sample cells to customers in the industrial, consumer electronics and automotive sectors last August. Now one of those customers has successfully qualified ION’s Cornerstone Cell.

“We have passed performance qualification with our customer using our Cornerstone cells and plan to start production here in Maryland,” said ION CEO Jorge Diaz Schneider. “We look forward to talking to more customers, helping them innovate without the restrictions of lithium-ion batteries.”

“Bringing a solid-state, anodeless battery out of the lab and into the real world is a company-defining moment for ION,” said Chief Technology Officer Dr. Greg Hitz. “Our unique combination of high-temperature stability and performance characteristics stands alone in the battery market.”

ION says its strategy of commercializing in applications where its technology delivers immediate value, as opposed to pursuing EVs first, is paying off. As Electrek’s Michelle Lewis notes, this approach mirrors the way lithium-ion batteries first entered the market in the early 1990s, beginning with consumer electronics before scaling up to larger formats used in EVs.

ION will supply the initial demand from its facility in Beltsville, Maryland, which is currently being expanded. The company expects production to begin in 2026.

Source: Electrek