Sparkz is accelerating its partnership with ORNL by opening a new R&D center adjacent to the lab

The following article was published in November, 2021.

Excerpt:

“KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Sparkz, Inc., an energy storage startup focused on enabling a vibrant American-made battery sector, is expanding its groundbreaking research partnership with the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to support the commercialization of an energy-dense, cobalt-free lithium battery that reduces dependence on materials sourced overseas. 

Sparkz has opened a new research and development site at the Fairview Technology Center adjacent to ORNL’s campus in Oak Ridge and Knoxville, Tennessee, to facilitate collaborative research. Sparkz and ORNL will also expand their research partnership as the result of a 2021 DOE Technology Commercialization Fund project that will scale up a low-cost, fast and efficient manufacturing process for high-energy-density, cobalt-free batteries. The company is already pursuing sales contracts with automakers and OEMs.  

“Public-private partnerships clearly create a tipping point for the advancement of the lithium battery industry. Sparkz is proud to partner with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to accelerate advancements that will reengineer the domestic supply chain across the energy storage industry,” said Sanjiv Malhotra, founder and CEO of Sparkz. “Our new joint work to advance affordable, energy-dense, zero-cobalt batteries will usher in new technology breakthroughs, new partnerships, and new business models—all essential to enable U.S. dominance in lithium batteries.”   

Sparkz was born out of one such partnership two years ago when DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office selected the ORNL-Sparkz partnership for the DOE Lab Investment Activity program. SPARKZ subsequently licensed six ORNL-developed technologies centered on high-energy-density lithium batteries that eliminate the use of cobalt. The partnership is focused on scaling the technologies for deployment to the marketplace. 

Cobalt, a rare, costly critical material typically sourced overseas, is used in the cathode of Li-ion batteries and determines much of the battery’s performance. Cobalt also makes up as much as 30% of the cost of today’s Li-ion batteries, a figure which is likely to increase as the cobalt supply chain is stressed by the rising popularity of electric vehicles. 

“ORNL is committed to accelerating the development of a robust and secure domestic supply chain for lithium-based batteries. Industry partnerships like the one with Sparkz will fast-track the commercial scale needed to meet U.S. demand, grow thousands of private sector clean energy jobs, and help meet national decarbonization goals,” said Ilias Belharouak, leader of the Electrification Section at ORNL.   

Founded by industry veteran and former DOE executive Sanjiv Malhotra, Sparkz is focused on the commercialization of a high-energy-density, cobalt-free, American-made lithium-ion battery, while continuing groundbreaking research and development focused on re-engineering the rest of the battery supply chain, including reducing use of costly, imported nickel in battery components. Sparkz’ cobalt-free battery offers twice the energy density compared to other cobalt-free batteries such as lithium iron phosphate.  

UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.“

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Founder & CEO

Dr. Sanjiv Malhotra

Dr. Sanjiv Malhotra is the founder and CEO of Sparkz—the battery start-up reinventing the energy supply chain.

 

Malhotra has been a leader in the energy sector for nearly three decades as a founder, investor and executive. Most recently, he served as the inaugural director for the Energy Investor Center at the U.S Department of Energy (DOE), serving under both Democratic and Republican administrations.

 

At DOE, Malhotra led the Obama Administration’s initiative to boost public-private partnerships to accelerate the commercialization of technologies developed in national research centers like Oak Ridge National Labs.

 

Malhotra was recruited to the Department of Energy after a successful exit of Oorja Protonics—the world leader in methanol fuel cells—which he founded and led as CEO for 10 years. Oorja raised $50 Million in equity financing from leading VCs such as Sequoia, DAG Ventures, Artis Capital and others during his tenure. He boosted Oorja’s revenue and profitability growth, while expanding operations globally in Japan, China, South Africa, Mexico, and India.

 

Oorja was acquired in 2014 by the Private Equity firm MinXing Growth Fund.

 

As an investor and consultant, Malhotra has worked at leading venture capital firms, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers as an advisor on clean energy and advanced materials.

 

Earlier in his career, Malhotra led the engineering and product development team at H Power, a pioneer in hydrogen fuel cells. As part of the management team, he managed the successful IPO, which raised more than $100 million in August 2000.

 

He began his career as a post-doctoral fellow at the renowned Lawrence Berkeley National Labs on electrochemical storage systems. Dr. Malhotra has authored seven patents and more than 40 publications in various fields of energy storage technology and materials. He holds a PhD in chemical engineering and an M.B.A from University of Iowa.