a startups technology takes aim at lithium ion batteries fire problem

The scene of a fire at a Bronx, New York, supermarket that fire officials are blaming on a faulty lithium-ion battery on March 6, 2023.
Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

By Michelle Ma
February 29, 2024 at 6:00 AM EST
Updated on February 29, 2024 at 6:13 PM EST

A battery startup has raised $20 million in Series A financing, which it will use to scale its proprietary technology that has the potential to address one of the industry’s biggest issues: fire risk.

Lithium-ion batteries power everything from electric vehicles to cell phones. But concerns around battery safety have hindered the growth of the EV market in some regions and thrown a wrench into the grid’s clean energy transition. Anthro Energy Inc. — which includes the Department of Defense in its customer base — has developed a polymer electrolyte that it says can make batteries safer and more energy-dense, both key attributes as the batteries become a bigger part of the energy transition.