Cambridge PhD Liu Zhenyu's New Energy Materials Firm Secures Funding

MatraVolt Limited, a company focused on carbon nanotube materials, has secured significant angel round financing. The funding, amounting to tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars, was led by CAS Star and K2VC, elevating the company's valuation to hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars. The core technology of MatraVolt originates from the team led by Professor Zizi ZHENG at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The company was co-founded by Zhenyu LIU and Zizi ZHENG, both alumni of Tsinghua University and the University of Cambridge.

The primary challenge for MatraVolt is scaling up its production process to achieve continuous and stable supply. The recent financing will be directed towards enhancing mass production capabilities and upgrading equipment. MatraVolt aims to commercialize carbon nanotube composite materials, which are ultra-thin, ultra-light, and highly conductive, to replace traditional metal foils in applications such as power batteries and supercapacitors.

The company's innovative approach addresses longstanding issues in lithium battery materials. Traditional current collectors use pure metal foils, which face limitations in strength and conductivity when thinned. MatraVolt's carbon nanotube composite current collectors aim to overcome these challenges by improving mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties while reducing reliance on copper.

MatraVolt's technology, based on carbon nanotube materials, offers a potential breakthrough in the industry. By replacing the plastic core of current collectors with a carbon nanotube film, the company enhances the material's properties. This advancement has attracted investment from CAS Star, K2VC, and others, recognizing the potential of MatraVolt's technology to become a mainstream material in the future.

The company is advancing multiple business lines, including materials and batteries, and is expanding its team across Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Huizhou, and Shanghai. MatraVolt's products, which replace copper and aluminum foils, are positioned as bulk commodities, simplifying customization for various applications.

MatraVolt has achieved significant progress in a short time, leveraging the industrial and policy support of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The company has developed a low-cost process for producing carbon nanotube films, with production speeds expected to reach 100 square meters per minute. The new composite current collectors maintain compatibility with existing production lines, offering improved properties without requiring significant changes from customers.

The carbon nanotube composite current collector is 70% lighter and 30% thinner than traditional options, increasing battery energy density by over 10% and reducing production costs. MatraVolt's strategy involves direct engagement with end customers, bypassing traditional cell manufacturers, to accelerate market adoption.

Currently, MatraVolt is focusing on power battery and data center energy storage applications. The company has signed agreements with NIO and is in discussions with other potential customers, aiming to generate market revenue soon. MatraVolt plans to capture 1% of the market share in battery-related fields within three years, with potential applications extending to aerospace in the future.