Battery manufacturing facility in Beltsville getting millions in government grants

Maryland’s clean-energy future — and maybe the clean-energy future of the U.S. and the entire world — is being developed in a lab in Beltsville, using battery technology that was developed just down the road at the University of Maryland.

On Tuesday afternoon, dozens of dignitaries from federal, state and local governments and from academia came to the lab to celebrate its good fortune — and its promising future.

ION Storage Systems recently won a $20 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to scale up its technology. And Gov. Wes Moore (D) said the state was kicking in another $1 million, while the Maryland Technology Development Corp., the state’s venture capital agency for technology, would provide another $1.5 million.

Moore called the company “a Maryland original,” and added, “We take a great deal of pride in the fact that we can call you ours.”

ION Storage Systems manufactures solid-state batteries for the defense, aerospace, medical, consumer, electric vehicle and grid-storage industries. The 5-year-old company has received a few contracts from the Defense Department, and hopes to grow exponentially in the years ahead.

What sets the company’s batteries apart, said Ricky Hanna, the CEO, is that they are filled with ceramics, rather than liquid, making them smaller, lighter, cheaper, safer and more durable. The company is working to develop a domestic lithium supply chain, and plans to be an integral part of the push for expanded battery storage capabilities across the globe.

The influx of new government funding, Hanna said, “will accelerate our mission to provide cutting-edge solid-state battery solutions. It also highlights Maryland as a logical and competitive landscape for other clean-energy startups.”

The company had just a handful of employees when it launched; it now has about 70 and expects to reach 80 later this year. Its headquarters in Beltsville has expanded to about 40,000 square feet.

And the technology was largely developed at the University of Maryland’s Energy Innovation Institute, under the tutelage of Eric Wachsman, who runs the institute and is a co-founder and board member of the company. Wachsman is president of The Electrochemical Society, a fellow of the society and the American Ceramic Society, and a member of the World Academy of Ceramics. He said he holds 40 patents.

Moore praised Wachsman for his “big bet.”

The $20 million DOE grant comes from the agency’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy program. The funds will expand ION Storage Systems’ capacity to manufacture next-generation solid-state lithium-metal batteries and support the commercialization of the technology into the electric vehicle market.

As Moore and other dignitaries toured the facility, he admired the technology but seemed more intent on asking company officials about workforce challenges and where their workers are coming from. Upon learning that many of the employees are University of Maryland grads, Moore said, “One of the things we’ve found and that we really appreciate is that the pipeline is so strong.”

Greg Hitz, the company’s chief technology officer, said the company will be seeking more research and development firepower in the months ahead, as well as more skilled tradesmen who are familiar with concrete, window painting, wiring and “you name it.”

“I’m going to dust my resume off,” Moore joked.

Minutes later, he shook hands with about half a dozen workers at the factory, asking them not just about their jobs, but where they lived, how their daily commute was, the affordability of housing, and more lifestyle questions.

The $1 million in funding the state is sending to ION Storage Systems is part of a broader $11 million package that the state is making available to support advanced manufacturing and innovation projects across the state. The administration said the money will be applied towards two programs administered by the Maryland Department of Commerce:

• $4 million will support the Maryland Manufacturing 4.0 Program, which provides grants to small and mid-sized Maryland manufacturers to invest in Industry 4.0-related technologies, machinery and robotics, and digital business practices in order to remain competitive and drive growth. With this new investment, the program will have total appropriations of $5 million for fiscal 2025. Forty-nine businesses have received nearly $2 million in total grant funding through this program since it launched in 2023.

• $7 million will support the Build Our Future Grant Pilot program and fund, from which the funding for ION was drawn. The program provides grants for eligible innovation infrastructure projects designed to transform and accelerate growth in key sectors including aerospace and defense, biotechnology, life sciences, quantum, and cybersecurity. Grant awards may be used to defray the cost that grantees incur to acquire, construct, rehabilitate, install, improve, or equip an eligible project. The program was created by Moore’s Innovation Economy Infrastructure Act of 2023. Eleven projects were funded through the program’s first round of grants, announced earlier this year.

“These programs are two of the sharpest and most innovative tools in Maryland Commerce’s toolbox,” said Maryland Secretary of Commerce Kevin Anderson, one of the dozens of officials on hand Tuesday in Beltsville.

– This story was updated on Thursday, Aug. 8, to correct the number of patents held by Eric Wachsman.