NOVA, the venture arm of Saint-Gobain, one of the world’s largest building materials companies and manufacturer of innovative material solutions, recently invested in solid-state Li-metal battery company ION Storage Systems to expand the relationship between Saint-Gobain Ceramics and ION as they work together on bringing an innovative approach for battery technologies.

ION provides battery solutions for applications used in defense, aerospace, consumer electronics, electric vehicles, and grid storage.

This investment is key in NOVA by Saint-Gobain’s strategy of seeking startups providing innovative solutions for our focused industries. The opportunity of partnering with ION Storage will enable our teams to support the continued growth of this promising startup, while bringing insights and expertise on battery applications to our Ceramics businesses.

—Basma Kharrat, Vice-President, External Venturing, Saint-Gobain

In September, ION announced a multi-year supply agreement with Saint-Gobain Ceramics, a global leader in ceramic materials products, which founded the Saint-Gobain Lithium Solutions business. This initiative originated from the Group’s robust engagement in decarbonization solutions and vested interest in the fast-evolving domains of electric vehicles (EVs) and intertwined battery technologies.

ION will start to use Saint-Gobain Ceramics powder from their qualified pilot level and transition to the one of their high-volume lines of ceramic powder with plans to increase the scale of usage in subsequent years to meet ION’s planned GWh-scale manufacturing growth .