Two months after Rockwell Automation CEO Blake Moret disclosed battery cell manufacturer Nanotech Energy Inc. as a new customer, Nanotech confirmed the partnership and said it will include a new facility in Chico, California.
Nanotech called the partnership far-reaching and said the deal follows extensive personal conversations between Moret and a team of senior Nanotech Energy executives.
American-made, graphene-based battery cells will go into full production in early 2024 at the new 150-megawatt manufacturing facility known as Chico 2, Nanotech Energy said. Final processes are being refined ahead of a launch that will eventually generate 30,000 18650 lithium-ion rechargeable battery cells per day, the company said.
Milwaukee-based Rockwell (NYSE: ROK) will deliver Nanotech’s quality management system and manufacturing execution system, said Troy Zerbe, Nanotech Energy's chief operating officer. The partnership also will identify other areas where automation can benefit Chico 2, “as well as provide inspiration and insights into where best we can leverage automation in our planned gigafactory,” he said.
“We’re delighted to be working in tandem with one of the leaders in this field and look forward to incorporating further advances in the coming years,” Zerbe said.
Nanotech Energy in November 2023 revealed its intention to secure a new brownfield site early in 2024 for a plant the company said would accelerate its commercialization of graphene-based, non-flammable lithium-ion batteries. The company said it hopes the new gigafactory will be operational in 2025.
Moret told stock analysts in early November 2023 that Rockwell Automation, which has seen rapid growth serving new electric vehicle and battery plants, won business with Nanotech Energy.
In addition to the facility in Chico, Nanotech said earlier in 2023 that it is planning a possible $1.2 billion plant in the United Kingdom.
Rockwell Automation in recent years quietly grew sales to electric vehicle startups, major automakers and their suppliers. The company has disclosed big wins with Hyundai Motor Co. and Ford Motor Co. and also has customers in the EV battery field.
Moret described Nanotech as a startup with new and innovative energy storage technologies that chose Rockwell as the exclusive automation partner to build new battery gigafactories.
Nanotech initially isn’t focused on electric vehicle batteries but energy storage with batteries, Moret told the Milwaukee Business Journal.
Nanotech Energy was founded in 2014 by Dr. Jack Kavanaugh and two UCLA scientists. The company is privately held and backed by Multiverse Investment Fund, Fubon Financial and other strategic investors.
The company says it has headquarters in Los Angeles and has a corporate address in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida.
