2026 Agenda

3:10 PM

Sponsored by: Preparing for Diligence: Tips and Lessons Learned

Bill Grigos will discuss how start-ups can prepare for diligence, whether as part of a fund-raise, collaboration, or exit, focusing on intellectual property issues. The discussion will address when and how to begin, strategies for success and pitfalls to avoid.

8:40 AM

Sponsored by: The Gigafactory Yield Curve: How Manufacturing Intelligence Turns Western Battery Ambition into Production Reality

Western gigafactories often face a 24–36-month gap between commissioning and production-grade yield, eroding investor returns. This talk introduces the “Gigafactory Yield Curve” and shows how manufacturing intelligence, real-time monitoring, and automated quality insights accelerate ramp-up and improve capital efficiency.

11:20 AM

Sponsored by: Next-Generation Battery Separator for Safer, Longer-Lasting Cells

ZNL Energy develops the patented ZNL-NPx separator to improve safety, thermal robustness, and cycle life. It suppresses degradation, side reactions, and transition metal diffusion. Customer tests show stronger capacity retention and reduced aging, supporting safer batteries across Europe and the US.

11:25 AM

Sponsored by: Sea Li-ion Technologies: Integrated Lithium Extraction and Battery Materials Manufacturing

Sea Li-ion's patented X2L technology combines lithium extraction and cathode active material (CAM) synthesis into a single production process, eliminating conventional refinement, reducing costs, and enabling a complete domestic battery manufacturing supply chain. X2L produces CAM (LFP, NMC, LMR, etc.) directly from lithium resources (brine, produced water, seawater, etc.) at lower costs than current battery supply chains.

11:30 AM

Sponsored by: High Performance Mechanical Si/C: Scalable, Cost-Competitive and Advancing to Commercial Production

High-performance silicon–carbon anode materials offer a scalable, cost-competitive pathway to significantly improve lithium-ion battery energy density and charging performance. This presentation explores the transition from technology development to commercial-scale production.

11:35 AM

Sponsored by: A Polymer Power Cell for Data Center Resilience

LiNova’s polymer cathode power cell delivers inherently safe, volume-efficient, high-rate backup with domestic supply chains and compelling system economics.

12:15 PM

Sponsored by: Capturing Value in the Shift to Manganese-Rich Cathodes

Manganese-rich cathodes are often framed as an “LFP alternative” or even an “LFP killer” - but the reality is more nuanced. Paige Johnson, Founder & CEO of Ten-Nine Technologies, cuts through the hype to explain why manganese-rich chemistries are gaining traction and what must happen for them to scale commercially. Investors will gain a clear view of where manganese-rich batteries fit in the next generation of EV platforms and which signals matter most as adoption accelerates.

2:15 PM

Sponsored by: Commercializing the Future: A Scalable, Cost-Effective Sodium-ion Platform for Global Energy Markets

Everindus Inc. presents a market-ready Sodium-ion Battery platform engineered for maximum safety and cost-efficiency. While the industry seeks alternatives to Lithium-ion, our technology stands out by offering extreme thermal stability and a simplified, scalable manufacturing process. Designed for seamless global deployment, we leverage a robust supply chain to support the transition toward resilient energy storage. This presentation explores our roadmap for U.S.-Korea strategic alignment, highlighting opportunities for investment and cross-border partnerships to accelerate the next generation of energy infrastructure.

2:20 PM

Sponsored by: Your Separator Has a Ceramic Problem

Ceramic coatings provided the key safety benefits that enabled Ni-rich cathodes to become mainstream. Twenty years after their introduction, they command more than 80% market share. Is their future dominance assured, or is it time to ask more of your separator?

2:25 PM

Sponsored by: Reducing Scrap and Increasing Yield: Inline X-ray for Gigafactory Battery Production

As battery production scales to gigafactories, even small defect rates can translate into millions in scrap costs and unstable production ramp-ups. Inline X-ray inspection allows manufacturers to detect internal defects early, reduce defect escape, and stabilize manufacturing processes. VCbattery enables scalable 3D X-ray inspection solutions designed specifically for high-volume battery cell production.

2:30 PM

Sponsored by: Dürr Dry Process Electrode Overview, X.Cellify DC 700

This talk will briefly introduce Dürr Systems, products for LiB cell manufacturing and describe the Dry Process electrode method in development at Dürr.

2:35 PM

Sponsored by: From Dependence to Domestic: Relocating Graphite Anode Production from China to the US

Graphite anode supply is almost exclusively from/via China and as the largest volume active material in batteries it is arguably the weakest part of the US supply chain. This talk explores the current situation and shares insights from European anode operations to inform economic considerations for new American anode production.