This IONS podcast episode features Cam Dales (Peak Energy) with Ben Steinberg and Carly Good from Venn Strategies, a lobbying and consulting firm based in Washington DC. They delve into how policy significantly impacts the energy and battery storage industry.

The discussion traces US energy policy evolution from the Obama administration's Recovery Act and its early battery manufacturing investments to the current era of industrial policy. Key legislation highlighted includes the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which offered substantial funding and tax credits for domestic battery production. Recent policy, referred to as "OB-cubed," aims to further decouple the US battery supply chain from foreign entities, particularly China, posing challenges for the nascent domestic industry. The experts note the bipartisan agreement on batteries' importance for both economy and national security, anticipating increased policy stability and clarity in rule-making soon.

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This Episode is all about safety. We go deep on this critical topic with Mathew Paiss,  Technical Advisor for PNNL's Battery Materials & Systems group as part of their Reliability & Safety Team. He leads the Energy Storage Safety Codes & Standards and brings a wealth of experience to this important conversation.

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In this episode, host Cam Dales of Peak Energy speaks with Anil Achyuta, an early investor in Peak from TDK Ventures. TDK Ventures, the corporate VC arm of TDK Corporation, invests in deep tech/frontier tech within energy and mobility, characterized by a long-term, patient approach.

We discuss TDK's significant role in batteries back to the 2004/2005 acquisition of Chinese company ATL, whose pouch cell technology, propelled by the iPhone's success, led to the spin-off and rise of CATL. A key factor was ATL's journey to improve quality under TDK, adopting a "zero defect policy" mindset crucial for meeting stringent requirements like Apple's.

Anil shares his initial skepticism about investing in batteries as expensive, high-risk experiments. His perspective changed by seeking investments with performance gains, a strong unit economics advantage (without subsidies), and addressing fundamental industry misalignments.

Anil describes TDK Ventures' "prepared mind" approach, involving deep dives and thesis development before investing. Cam highlights the crucial role of timing for startup success, and Anil concludes with personal lessons from cricket.

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In this episode of the IONS Podcast, host Cam Dales talks with Peak Energy’s VP of Cell Engineering, Brandon Kelly, PhD, about the potential of sodium-ion batteries, with a focus on the NFPP (sodium iron phosphate pyrophosphate) chemistry that Peak Energy is developing for grid storage.

Dr. Kelly explains how NFPP is particularly well-suited for stationary energy storage, offering strong stability, safety advantages over certain lithium-ion chemistries, and long cycle life. While NFPP cells currently (March 2025) have lower energy density and higher costs than LFP, experts predict cost parity by 2027 as the technology scales.

Beyond the cell itself, designing energy storage systems around sodium-ion's specific properties—including its thermal resilience and cycling stability—could unlock significant long-term value by reducing operational complexity, cooling requirements, and maintenance over a 20-year project lifespan.

If you’ll be attending the International Battery Seminar in Orlando, Florida, March 17-20, be sure to catch Dr. Kelly’s presentation, Advancing BESS with Sodium-ion Batteries, and join the discussion during the program’s Q&A session.

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On this episode of the IONS podcast, we talk with Landon Mossburg, co-founder of Peak Energy, who shares his experiences helping Northvolt grow from a team of 20 people to become Europe's largest battery manufacturer. Now, having declared bankruptcy, Northvolt's meteoric rise and tragic fall begs the question: how can western companies compete with the Chinese and Korean companies that dominate the industry today? 

Host Cam Dales explores what went right, what went wrong, and what lessons can be learned from Northvolt's journey

Summary:

• Northvolt aimed to establish a sustainable battery supply chain in Europe but struggled with scaling and parallelizing various processes.
• The company's vision was expansive, encompassing recycling, raw materials, cathode production, cell manufacturing, and battery systems, which proved difficult to manage simultaneously.
• Northvolt initially focused on high-energy-density NMC cells but later recognized the strategic importance of including LFP options in their portfolio.
• The company encountered difficulties in cell design and manufacturing, including equipment selection and adapting to customer demands for custom cells.
• External factors, such as construction delays, supply chain disruptions during COVID-19, and policy uncertainties, further complicated Northvolt's efforts.

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This episode’s guest is Geoff Brown, former CEO of Powin and now Chief Strategy Officer at Peak Energy. A veteran of the renewable energy sector, Geoff discusses his journey and the evolution of energy storage with host Cam Dales, Chief Commercial Officer at Peak. 

Geoff recounts his early career and his time at Powin, a company that grew from a trampoline importer to a major battery system integrator.

Key topics include the crucial role of system integrators, the impact of Chinese cell manufacturers, and the importance of domestic cell manufacturing. The conversation also highlights the significance of the IRA, the challenges of domestic battery cell production, the need for experienced talent, and the complexities of financing battery factories. Geoff explains the concept of project equity as a way for customers to invest in a factory to ensure a domestic supply of batteries.

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