Since its founding, Ateios has been on the move. From San Diego, the company relocated to Newberry, Indiana, to take advantage of the resources of the area’s Battery Innovation Center (BIC). Ateios also took part in the Innovation Crossroads program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee, partnering with the lab to develop technology that could shorten electrode processing times from minutes to seconds, significantly lower capital and operating costs, and reduce emissions. The fruit of that partnership was Ateios’ launch of RaiCore™ in July 2024, which enabled the world’s first PFA-free, solvent-free rechargeable LCO battery.

About 95% of batteries use solvents, heat and perfluoroalkoxy alkane (PFA) in the production of lithium battery electrodes. RaiCore™, however, uses energy-curable, PFA-free polymers, replacing traditional electrode manufacturing methods with one that’s cleaner, more scalable in its production and more efficient, enabling up to a 94% reduction in processing costs while increasing manufacturing speeds by up to 10x.

RaiCore™ also addresses challenges in performance and regulatory compliance, with up to 20% more energy density over standard LCOs and improved battery life.

Challenges getting to the next level

Before the launch of RaiCore™ Ateios had earned $3 million in initial and follow-on funding, including a grant from the National Science Foundation. While the company had a promising breakthrough to offer the world, it still had miles to go in building out its capacity and attracting investors. Ateios needed more resources. More marketing support. More space. More industry connections.

“We knew we needed help in polishing our pitch and doing our due diligence,” says Kumar, Ateios CEO. “It’s so critical that all the documentation is there.”

As a New York State native, Kumar had tracked the technology environment here. He credits his undergraduate years at SUNY Poly with launching his profession.

“My time there formed the basis of my whole career,” he says.

But his interest in entrepreneurship runs even deeper in New York State.

“Growing up in East Fishkill next to IBM, my dream was to build my own company,” Kumar says. “I kept an eye of things going on in New York.”

And keeping an eye on things drew his attention to ChargeUp — a program for a yearly cohort of entrepreneurs in the battery industry that’s part of New Energy New York, powered by Binghamton University.

“Once I saw the accelerator, its focus on my industry and its resources, ChargeUp seemed like a match made in heaven,” Kumar says.

ChargeUp + Ateios: A good match, indeed

Ateios hit the ground running in May 2023 as part of ChargeUp’s first cohort of startups. The company quickly received the help it needed to build a brand, share it effectively with the right audiences, and launch RaiCore™.

“We had expert support in crafting the marketing and PR,” Kumar says. “They really helped us build a strategy around our product.”

Those efforts proved vital to reaching prospective customers and investors.

“We started getting traction from major brands, right from the first press release,” he says.

ChargeUp also helped Ateios access a whole universe of mentors and colleagues who could help it grow — and save the company millions. For instance, those connections led to Ateios identifying a space in Rochester where it could take advantage of an existing production line — rather than spending three years and $30 million to build a facility on its own.

Those connections have also led to valuable in-kind work.

“Money that doesn’t have to come out of our pocket is money we use to pursue new opportunities we wouldn’t otherwise be able to,” Kumar says. “That in-kind work has stretched our product development budget through an amazing voucher program.”

A first-to-market edge

Working with ChargeUp helped Ateios accelerate its schedule to the point that it beat a bigger competitor to market by months.

“RaiCore™ was the first product to be announced in the PFA-free and solvent-free battery space, thanks to this program,” Kumar says. “Within three months of joining ChargeUp, we were able to offer the product, so we beat the competition in both cases. By the time they entered the market, we already had the momentum.”

Since its July 2024 product launch, Ateios has secured contracts from both the private sector and the U.S. Defense Department worth $3 million.

“And now we’re getting inquiries from six of the major OEMs for pilots, after sending out sample kits to 10 companies,” Kumar says.

What’s next for Ateios

The company now has 10 employees, with plans to scale up further. In the long term, Ateios envisions serving numerous industries around the world, from electric vehicles to power grids to wearable tech. In the meantime, Kumar and his colleagues will continue to take full advantage of what they learned and the connections they’ve made — beyond the cohort’s graduation in October 2024.

In fact, ChargeUp is assisting Ateios with closing a new round of funding.

“Our partnership with ChargeUp continues with new projects we’ll announce in the coming months,” Kumar says. “Stay tuned.”

A founder’s advice to peers

Kumar appreciates the unique focus ChargeUp offers startups in his industry — and encourages peers to look into it.

“There are a lot of accelerators that are good for building business, but they don’t understand the nuances of the battery industry,” Kumar says. “ChargeUp understands the complexity and has the network of professional contacts and mentors — plus extensive funding.”

And why Binghamton?

“All the brightest minds are working on solving challenges in the battery industry right here,” Kumar says.