All Access

Climate Deals

Standard

Climate Deals Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

Climate Deals Alerts

Alert

mustard

BFD Expert Voices - Climate Deals

BFD Expert Voices

Companies are turning to chips, engineering, and software to make batteries last longer.

Why it matters: Investors are plugged into the new technology.

Driving the news: Battery tech startup Sonocharge Energy just closed a $23.5 million round led by Cycle Capital and including auto giant Honda, Silicon Valley investor Khosla Ventures, and Singapore's Temasek.

The startup has developed a device that can send acoustic waves across a battery and help the lithium ions charge in a smoother way.

The company says the tech significantly extends the life of batteries, adding value for consumer electronics and EVs and reducing waste.

State of play: Sonocharge Energy is just the latest novel version of a desire to extend battery life without boosting the chemistry inside.

Energy storage companies and EV makers are investing heavily in electronics and software that make up "battery management systems" that protect batteries as they charge, extending life and trying to keep the batteries running safely.

At CES earlier this month, a Dutch company called Innatera showed off a chip that it says mimics the human brain's architecture to extend the battery life on smart devices.

Innatera raised $21 million in an extended Series A round last year from Invest-NL Deep Tech Fund, the EIC Fund, MIG Capital, Matterwave Ventures and Delft Enterprises.

The intrigue: The reality of batteries is that they're both powerful and contain a delicate mix of combustive chemicals.

Lithium-ion batteries are the core of modern technology, but there's a limit to their performance.

Battery cells and packs have to be carefully managed for both safety and efficiency. Last week's fire at the world's largest grid battery in Moss Landing shows how vulnerable they can be.

The big picture: Batteries for grid storage and EVs are massive and rapidly growing markets.

Battery prices hit record lows last year, spurring even more grid battery projects in states like Texas and California.

The bottom line: If new engineering and computing tech can extend the life of these batteries even more, the market for energy storage and EVs could continue to grow and bring returns to the entrepreneurs and investors who've backed them.

Companies turn to new tech for better batteries

Sonocharge uses acoustic waves to more smoothly charge batteries.

Companies are turning to chips, engineering, and software to make batteries last longer.Why it matters: Investors are plugged into the new technology.

topics

politics-policy

epstein-files

donald-trump

2026-midterm-elections

immigration

behind-the-curtain

race-and-equity

technology

privacy-tech-regulation

automation-and-ai

tiktok-news

big-tech

social-media

cybersecurity

economy

social-security

inflation

tariffs

federal-reserve

transportation

business

c-suite

retail-news

media

elon-musk

dealmaking

health

rfk-jr

drug-prices

axios-explains-abortion

public-health

world

israel

axios-explains-ukraine

iran

russia

china

energy-climate

nuclear-energy

climate-energy-policy

climate-change

extreme-weather

alternative-energy

electric-vehicles

science

emerging-tech

biomedicine

newsletters

charlotte

salt-lake-city

denver

fort-lauderdale

boulder

kansas-city

austin

chicago

dallas

detroit

washington-dc

atlanta

indianapolis

nashville

nw-arkansas

columbus

hollywood

richmond

san-francisco

boston

des-moines

houston

phoenix

miami

philadelphia

seattle

new-orleans

colorado-springs

huntsville

raleigh

san-antonio

twin-cities

pittsburgh

arapahoe

douglas

san-diego

tampa-bay

portland

cleveland

axios-local

axios-pro

axios-live

the-axios-show

Companies turn to new tech for better batteries

What to read next