With the newsletter, we’ve loved seeing all the founders, companies, and deals we’ve been able to get sneak peeks at over the last few years. It’s important to collectively learn in public about new startups, battery R&D, and early-stage investments. I hope to invest more in exciting early-stage companies like this and share my learnings with you.
If you want to learn more about angel investing with our network, read more about Intercalation Collective and our why on Morning Brew.
What is About:Energy?
About:Energy uses data and software to accelerate and enhance battery development for customers across the battery manufacturing, automotive, and aerospace sectors. The company was set up at the tail end of 2021 by PhD students Gavin White from Imperial and Kieran O’Regan from Birmingham, who were working together in the Faraday Institution’s Multi-scale Modelling Project in the UK, on cell thermal conductivity and electrochemical parametrisation respectively.
Often in materials science and battery companies, I have experienced “mindless optimization” (this is an actual quote from an interview I conducted, as well as from my personal experience) when it comes to tweaking battery parameters to try and improve performance. Many companies don’t truly understand the fundamental chemistry and rely on this kind of brute force optimization which isn’t the most effective way forward. About:Energy has developed a juggernaut of data and models to reduce the reliance on physical research to enhance the design, management, and prediction, with a library of commercial cells and all of their fingerprints (measured parameters + physics-based models). The company dismantles the barriers that prevent companies from digitalising R&D by creating a seamless modelling experience, from battery system to simulation, ultimately helping companies understand their batteries through and through.
Why did I invest?
👨🔬 Impressive team with a strong board. I first met Kieran in March 2021 because he wanted to write something for Intercalation Station. Ultimately, Kieran ended up too busy to write anything. Still, we kept in touch and I informally advised Gavin and Kieran (aka chatted over a few pints) over the first half of 2022 to talk about their spinout plans. Kieran and Gavin are both final-year PhD students with a strong commercial mindset. I remember our first lunch, where we met in person in London, and I clicked with the team. In addition, the board consists of rock star academics Prof Emma Kendrick (Birmingham), Dr Alastair Hales (Bristol) and Dr Yatish Patel (Imperial), and Neil Morris (former CEO of Faraday Institution).
📈 Impressive traction in the early days. The company has only been live for several months (while the founders wrap up their PhDs). It already has significant traction in contracts and pilots with customers, with the pilots being extremely valuable to build the core platform based on all the customer feedback. I feel that the founders understand the pain that many of these companies are feeling when it comes to upgrading battery development and digitizing the process.
🔋 Significant opportunity to integrate modelling and parameterisation into companies working on batteries. In my diligence process, I spoke with several companies in the battery space working on R&D/manufacturing and end-users. They shared a strong pain in doing cell/pack modelling and parameterisation in-house with long development times and high costs, and a lot of confusion around how to go about doing physics-based modelling for so many different types of commercial cells out there. Even doing things like pack modelling and cell selection can take many months, if not years. Physics-based modelling can truly be a step change in how battery development is performed in companies. About:Energy has a really impressive line-up of current world-class partners which indicates a strong pull in the industry.
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The views expressed are solely those of the authors, and have not been reviewed or approved by any other organization, agency, employer, or company. Please note the information on this website and provided in any form does not recommend the purchase or sale of any security nor is it to be construed as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Furthermore, the information contained on this website and provided by Intercalation in any form is not intended to be, nor should it be construed or used as investment, tax, or legal advice. The information provided is for informational purposes only.
Investing in start-ups and early-stage businesses involves risks, including illiquidity, lack of dividends, loss of investment and dilution. It should be done only as part of a diversified portfolio. Intercalation Collective is targeted exclusively at investors who are sufficiently sophisticated to understand these risks and make their own investment decisions. You will only be able to invest via Intercalation Collective once you are registered as sufficiently sophisticated. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Review our full disclaimer here.
Disclaimer
We are shareholders in About:Energy.