Group1 is an engineering materials company focused on the commercialization of potassium-ion batteries (KiBs). Their first product, Kristonite is a high-performance cathode material that charges quicker, is more affordable, and has less environmental impact than traditional lithium-ion batteries (LiBs). Furthermore, Kristonite is a drop-in replacement for the lithium cathode in existing LiB manufacturers allowing Group1 to scale without requiring large CapEx from their customers.
KiBs enable a domestic supply chain because it uses abundant raw materials in North America and does not contain critical minerals like cobalt, nickel, and lithium. It performs better than lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries, with 180 W/kg vs LFP at 160 W/kg. Kristonite can be easily manufactured at a low CapEx and is compatible with the existing LiB manufacturing infrastructure which will lead to accelerated adoption by battery manufacturers.
Group1 is led by an experienced founding team. The CEO, Alexander Girau, is a YCombinator alum who co-founded Advano, a successful LiB materials company. Alex is accompanied by the former CTO of Cabot Corporation (NYSE: CBT), Yakov Kutsovsky (CSO). Leigang Xue (CPO), is the battery specialist who invented Group1's core tech at the Goodenough Lab at UT Austin (where the LiBs were invented).
Group1’s core technology was developed in the world-renowned laboratory of 2019 Nobel Prize winner and LiB inventor, Professor John B. Goodenough. Group1 has secured an IP license with UT-Austin (7/2022) and Sharp (5/2023), covering exclusive rights to the KiB technology. These licenses make Group1 the global leader in KiB technology and gives them a strong blocking position to potential entrants.
