Over the past decade, the price of lithium-ion batteries has plummeted by 75%, driven not by any single revolutionary breakthrough, but rather by numerous incremental improvements across the battery industry. Among those intimately familiar with this progress is Chaitanya Sharma, founder of the recently unveiled startup Nascent Materials.
Sharma brings extensive firsthand experience, having spent more than two years honing his skills at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Nevada, followed by another two leading a battery manufacturer known as iM3NY in New York. Since his departure from iM3NY in November 2023, where he observed critical manufacturing challenges, Sharma has devoted himself to developing innovative techniques for processing the cathode materials used in battery cells.
Nascent Materials’ unique approach focuses not on creating new, exotic chemical formulations but on refining and perfecting the manufacturing process itself. Sharma believes this offers the best path toward substantial improvements in battery performance and affordability. According to Sharma, the proprietary method Nascent has developed can boost cathode energy density by up to 12% while cutting manufacturing costs by around 30%.
This promising technology has already attracted substantial industry attention. Nascent secured a $2.3 million seed investment in a recent funding round led by SOSV, joined by contributions from the New Jersey Innovation Evergreen Fund and UM6P Ventures.
Initially, Nascent Materials will concentrate on enhancing lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP) cathode materials. Both have drawn increased attention recently for their advantages in cost and safety, making them attractive choices for automakers and operators of large-scale data centers. Recent industry innovations have brought the energy density of LFP batteries closer to those based on more expensive nickel and cobalt, opening up even greater market potential.
However, Sharma noted ongoing limitations remain with quality consistency and supply-chain inequality. He pointed out that while major battery manufacturing giants like Tesla have consistent access to high-quality raw materials due to their large purchasing power, smaller players—investing tens or hundreds of millions in their facilities—often face inconsistent supplies. Indeed, inconsistent material quality was partly responsible for iM3NY’s eventual bankruptcy earlier this year.
These observations inspired Sharma to establish Nascent Materials, aiming explicitly to ensure smaller manufacturers have dependable access to consistent, high-quality cathode materials. Sharma explained that, although cathode material usually appears uniformly powdered, subtle differences in grain size and shape can dramatically affect battery performance. Nascent’s innovation addresses this issue by creating particles that are more precisely sized and structured, facilitating tighter packing and thus higher energy density.
Beyond improving battery performance, Nascent’s process uses lower energy inputs and is compatible with lower-grade raw materials. This is especially valuable because it opens greater possibilities for sourcing domestic supplies, reducing dependency on foreign manufacturers, particularly China which currently dominates the global market.
In the near term, Nascent Materials intends to solidify its presence with LFP and LMFP materials. Looking further ahead, Sharma expects the company to leverage its process for other chemistries, including common nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) batteries and lithium-manganese-rich (LMR) cells—the latter set to be adopted widely, such as by General Motors in 2028.
Reducing reliance on imported cathode materials and building robust domestic supply chains is a key element in Sharma’s long-term vision. “The question we’re trying to address is: ‘How can we stop relying heavily on China for these materials?'” Sharma said. “Simplifying the supply chain and using local raw materials is how we’re going to make these batteries significantly more affordable.”
