BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — Imperium3 New York Inc. (iM3NY) on Wednesday announced “significant” funding for the development of its lithium-ion Gigafactory in Endicott.
Based in Binghamton, iM3NY says it focuses on lithium-ion battery products incorporating cathode technology developed in partnership with C4V under an exclusive licensing agreement. Founded by Shailesh Upreti, the company has been working on the advancement of lithium-ion cathode formulation and battery-cell design for more than 10 years. Its work is supported by a “collaborative working relationship” with Binghamton University.
The Endicott Gigafactory is located in what was previously the home to IBM and other major employers. Over the next year, iM3NY will seek to employ about 150 people within the manufacturing operation and its headquarters located adjacent to the factory. The company’s growth plans include building out 32 gigawatt hours (GWh) of capacity over eight years, which will create direct employment opportunities for about 2,500 people. The company envisions further employment opportunities as supply-chain partners co-locate to Endicott to better integrate with iM3NY Gigafactory, the company said in a release.
The build-out of its first Gigafactory has started with production expected in early 2022.
Funding
Riverstone Credit Partners, L.P. and Riverstone Holdings LLC, both of New York City, and Magnis Energy Technologies, a company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (MNS:ASX), joined iM3NY for the funding announcement on Wednesday at the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator in Binghamton.
iM3NY is now fully funded, allowing a capacity to generate over 1 GWh of high-grade lithium-ion battery cells per year.
iM3NY’s total funding of $85 million includes a $50 million senior secured-term loan from Riverstone Credit Partners and $35 million of equity funding, of which $23.6 million is from investments made by Magnis earlier this year. Along with this funding, iM3NY has $230 million of manufacturing assets in place, the firm said.
Additionally, Empire State Development has offered performance-based incentives totaling $7.5 million, including a $4 million Upstate Revitalization Initiative grant and $3.5 million in Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits in exchange for job-creation commitments for the iM3NY project.
About its work
iM3NY has an exclusive North American technology license agreement with Charge CCCV LLC (C4V), a Binghamton–based research and development company with IP/patented technologies in the development and design of “environmentally friendly” lithium-ion batteries.
Upreti also founded C4V. He has previously worked with Professor Stanley Whittingham, a Nobel laureate for his work on lithium-ion battery development and a resident professor at Binghamton University.
Upreti has been receiving a continued mentorship from Whittingham and C4V gets “extensive support” from the infrastructure at Binghamton University, including the NorthEast Center for Chemical Energy Storage (NECCES) and the Binghamton incubator program with the start-up suites and the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator for its continued research in new, “groundbreaking, and environmentally sustainable” battery cell technologies, per the release.
iM3NY’s first-generation batteries will incorporate C4V’s patented bio mineralization technology with its proprietary BMLMP (bio-mineralized lithium mixed metal phosphate) process to produce “higher capacity, safer, longer cycling and lower-cost batteries versus all other competitors in the category,” the company contends.