Each month, TEAM TN features its partners that make this work possible. Today, we’re highlighting Eonix. We spoke with CEO Don DeRosa about Eonix, its mission and why the startup joined TEAM TN. 

Why is advanced mobility important to Eonix?

The electrification of vehicles presents the opportunity to significantly improve the quality of life for consumers not only through reductions in carbon emissions and air pollution but also by significantly reducing vehicle cost of ownership and fuel costs. Unfortunately, the premium price of electric vehicles prevents most consumers from realizing these benefits, with over 60% of the cost stemming from battery packs.

Furthermore, the strain of high-power DC fast chargers on the grid introduces another significant obstacle to realizing affordable, scalable electric vehicles.  Armed with an accelerated materials discovery platform, Eonix has the opportunity to design next-generation materials for lithium-ion batteries that solve challenges across the advanced mobility industry. Eonix has already designed a non-flammable lithium-ion battery chemistry that can be safely coupled with DC fast chargers as Behind the Meter Storage to reduce the excessive peak power demand for utilities and charging costs for consumers. Over the next few years, Eonix aims to design chemistries that improve performance, reduce cost, and harness abundant materials to enable the production of affordable electric vehicles. 

Why did Eonix sign on to TEAM TN?

From materials discovery to workforce development, solving the technical and economic challenges to drive automotive electrification forward requires a multi-disciplinary group willing to engage in partnerships. 

TEAM TN recruited a comprehensive set of partners that has resulted in the most robust advanced mobility ecosystem in the nation. A critical aspect of solving the techno-economic challenges of electrification is designing and commercializing materials that significantly reduce the cost of lithium-ion batteries. Eonix has a unique set of materials discovery capabilities that, along with partnerships forged through TEAM TN, can help address this critical challenge. 

What does Eonix hope to gain through the initiative?

Eonix is interested in engaging TEAM TN partners with complementary capabilities and a clear set of pain points that can be addressed through materials innovation. As a company focusing on materials design, Eonix works with various partners, from chemical manufacturers to existing lithium-ion battery manufacturers, to develop and deliver energy storage solutions that solve market-specific challenges. TEAM TN represented an opportunity for Eonix to connect with Tennessee-based companies throughout the advanced mobility value chain to establish manufacturing partnerships or identify market pain points for our accelerated materials discovery platform to solve.

What makes TN the right state for this kind of initiative?

Tennessee is uniquely positioned in the heart of the emerging battery belt. With over $33 billion in announced capital commitments for electric vehicle and battery manufacturing in the South East alone, Tennessee has the opportunity to capture the advanced mobility manufacturing market. For companies, the economics and central location of Tennessee in the battery belt make this state an ideal location to build or expand an advanced mobility-focused manufacturing plant. 

Anything else you would like to add?

Eonix has created the first semi-autonomous materials R&D system, ATLAS-system, that drastically reduces the time and cost to design new materials for lithium-ion batteries. This breakthrough process shrinks product development cycles of application-specific lithium-ion battery chemistries from years to months. Eonix’s novel ATLAS system enables the rapid design of drop-in compatible electrolyte solutions that address the market-specific barriers to electric vehicles, grid storage, and hybrid defense systems to drive cleantech adoption.

Any TEAM TN members interested in sampling our non-flammable lithium-ion battery cells or the design of a custom lithium-ion battery chemistry can feel free to reach out through our website.