A startup founded by Cornell alumni and a professor, inspired by a class in the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and nurtured through Cornell's entrepreneurship ecosystem, began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market June 8 following a $1.3 billion valuation.
Factorial Energy, a solid-state battery developer which aims to power the next generation of electric vehicles, drones and robots, went public following its merger with Cartesian Growth Corporation III, a special-purpose acquisition company designed to help private businesses become publicly traded firms.
Lionano, the company that preceded Factorial, was founded in 2013 by Siyu Huang, Ph.D. '12, MBA '14, CEO of Factorial; Alex Yu, Ph.D. '14, chief technology officer of Factorial; and Héctor D. Abruña, the Emile M. Chamot Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Factorial's adviser.
"I first met Alex through a late-night email in the fall of 2008," Abruña said. "He expressed interest in my research group and introduced his girlfriend, now wife, Siyu Huang. That was the start of an extraordinary journey that culminated in the IPO of Factorial Energy this past June. A little bit of early support, talent, dedication and imagination can lead to tremendous success. I will always feel tremendously proud of their accomplishments."
Huang and Yu were inspired to form the company by a commercializing technology class they took in 2013.
"Siyu and Alex saw the problems that the world was facing, which spurred them to use their chemistry knowledge creatively to solve existing problems," said Wesley Sine, the John and Dyan Smith Professor of Management in the SC Johnson College, who taught the class. "I see this as a major step toward protecting both the environment and the world for our kids."
Solid-state battery (SSB) technology offers several advantages compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries (LIB), the current industry standard. LIBs use liquid electrolytes, which are highly flammable if the battery is damaged. Their lower energy density also contributes to "range anxiety" in EV drivers - the fear that a dead battery will strand them far from a charging station. SSBs mitigate safety risks by using stable ceramic or polymer electrolytes, and pack greater energy density into lighter batteries, promising safer and more efficient power.
Lionano initially focused on nano-engineered anode materials, which Yu, Dong Ren, Ph.D. '18, and postdoctoral associates Deli Wang and Weidong Zhou developed while working in Abruña's lab. Soon after completing her own Ph.D. in chemistry, Huang took an interest in their work.
On Yu's advice, Huang audited the commercializing technology course, co-taught by Sine and Jonathan Greene, partner at New Climate Ventures, then an adjunct instructor at the SC Johnson College. She went on to write three Cornell patents on Yu's LIB materials while interning at Cornell's Center for Technology Licensing. Then they founded Lionano with Abruña and set out to develop a commercially viable product.
From 2014 to 2017, they held a space at Cornell's Center for Life Science Ventures and assembled a team - many of whom also came from Abruña's lab. The company focused on drop-in cathode materials - high-performance battery chemistries that could be manufactured at low cost.
"Witnessing Factorial Energy grow from a Cornell startup into a publicly traded company is incredibly rewarding," said Ying Yang, director of the Center for Life Science Ventures. "Their journey shows what's possible when world-class research meets entrepreneurial drive, strong industry partnerships and the right support ecosystem."
During this period, the company began to experiment with solid electrolytes for use in SSBs. They didn't invest much time in the project until 2019, when Huang and Yu met Joseph Taylor, former chairman and CEO of Panasonic Corporation of North America.
"Alex and I met Joe at an Italian restaurant in JFK airport, and he told us the cathode business was a commodity play and would not be interesting for a technology company, but that our 'little SSB business' had huge potential," Huang said.
Lionano split into two entities, one of which was rebranded as Factorial Energy in April 2021, with SSB technology the core of their business. What started as an experiment would go on to earn them partnerships with major automakers including Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, Kia and Hyundai.
The company's manufacturing approach also differed from competitors'.
"Everyone has their 'secret sauce' to make an SSB. What we did differently is opt for a different polymer technology - a combination of solid and liquid - which is less complicated and more adaptable to existing manufacturing equipment," Yu said. "We focused on building a viable battery cell, ready to be sampled, while other SSB makers were more focused on fundamental research."
In partnership with Mercedes-Benz, Factorial's FEST (Factorial Electrolyte System Technology) powered a modified Mercedes EQS for an unprecedented 749-mile test drive from Stuttgart, Germany, to Malmö, Sweden, in a single charge. Last month, they also launched the first SSB-powered road tests in North America, in partnership with Stellantis.
The recent merger generated over $100 million in gross proceeds for Factorial, funding their ambitions to expand further into the e-mobility, aerospace and defense sectors, as well as hyperscale data centers.
Nina Collavo is a writer for the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. Bridget Hagen is a marketing communications specialist for Cornell Research and Innovation. Linda Glaser, news and media relations manager for the College of Arts and Sciences, contributed.
