BELTSVILLE, Maryland — A startup began operating one of the largest U.S. factories for solid-state batteries Monday — a boost to the adoption of green technologies.
The plant here will produce batteries that charge faster and store more power than lithium-ion batteries and will be used in defense equipment, according to Ion Storage Systems, the manufacturer. The company plans to produce future batteries for electric vehicles, phones and grid storage.
ION received over $3 million in federal funds in fiscal 2023 and has successfully tested its batteries with the Department of Defense.
“Solid state represents a significant opportunity to move to the next level of battery technology with a whole service of applications, including EVs,” Halle Cheeseman, a program director at the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), said in an interview at the plant’s opening ceremony.
