German CEO Builds NASA Battery Tech in China

Henning Rath, CEO of the startup Enervenue, is building a factory in Changzhou, China to produce nickel-hydrogen batteries originally developed by NASA. For decades, NASA used these batteries in space, but they were too expensive for terrestrial use until researchers at Stanford University found a solution. Enervenue received $300 million in funding from investors including Saudi Aramco and a Hong Kong billionaire.

Rath previously built coal plants and negotiated solar panel deals in China for a German company, giving him extensive knowledge of the renewable energy sector there. He chose China for production due to its complete industrial supply chain and to stay ahead of potential competition. The batteries, which can last up to 30,000 charge cycles, are suited for applications like data centers and grid stabilization, not electric vehicles due to their weight.

While the company aims to build factories in Europe and the Middle East, Rath emphasizes the need to leverage both American innovation and Chinese industrial strength. The factory currently aims for 250 megawatt-hours of production this year, increasing to one gigawatt-hour next year.

Maximilian Fichtner, Director of the Helmholtz-Institute for Electrochemical Energy Storage, notes a lack of public performance data for these batteries, making assessment difficult.