2 minute read | August.30.2023
Mitra Future Technologies Inc. (d/b/a Mitra Chem), a leading innovator in North American production of lithium-ion battery materials, has completed a $40 million first close of its $60 million Series B funding round led by GM.
Orrick advised Mitra Chem in the transaction.
“The investment will fuel Mitra Chem's mission to develop, deploy and commercialize U.S.-made iron-based cathode materials in an effort to enable mass-market electrification for electric vehicles, energy storage solutions, and beyond,” the company said in a statement.
Mitra Chem is building a North American lithium-ion battery materials product company that aims to shorten the lab-to-production timeline by over 90%.
Lithium-ion batteries are a key platform technology enabling electrification in transportation and consumer electronics along with residential, commercial and grid-scale energy storage.
GM’s funding will help Mitra Chem to scale its current operations and expedite bringing Mitra Chem’s novel battery materials formulation to market.
"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.
Gil Golan, GM’s vice president for Technology Acceleration and Commercialization, said, “Mitra Chem's labs, methods and talent will fit well with our own R&D team's work.”
"GM is accelerating larger investments in critical subdomains of battery technology, like cell chemistry, components and advanced cell production processes,” Golan added.
The Orrick team that advised Mitra included Ellen Ehrenpreis, Aria Kashefi, Michael Ruiz, Alexis Savini, Robert Moore, and Ching-Yin Chen, with valuable contribution by the broader Orrick team, including, in particular, Jose Lamarque, Jeanine McGuinness, Cathy Lui, and Anna Suh.