23 January 2025
Octet Scientific, Inc., a leading maker of specialty chemicals for safe, sustainable batteries, has received a strategic equity investment from ICIG Ventures, the Venture capital investments unit of International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG). Octet plans to use the funds toward further development and driving market adoption of its electrolyte additive solutions for long-duration energy storage.
This investment follows previous funding including a $1M seed round from JumpStart Ventures and the Advanced Manufacturing Fund, along with $1.6 million in federal grant money from the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, and Department of Defense.
Since its founding in 2017, Octet has focused on designing chemical additives – such as the OctoLyte Z8 line of additives launched in 2024 – that make batteries more efficient and effective, and make battery production more easily scalable, through targeted, seamlessly integrated additions to electrolyte chemistry. Octet solutions have helped customers achieve results including 20% capacity increase, 10% efficiency increase, and doubled operating life.
With the new funds, the company is expanding beyond its initial offerings for the zinc battery market – to provide customer electrolyte chemistry to support the broader grid and stationary battery sector.
“Our customers’ results show how small changes in electrolyte chemistry can have an outsized impact on battery effectiveness,” explained Onas Bolton, Founder and CEO, Octet. “Clients have used our additives to achieve the equivalent of a next-generation battery —without the cost and complexity of a redesign. We believe that capability will prove vital as manufacturers of emerging battery technology look to scale quickly to keep up with demand in the near future.”
“Grid energy storage is slated to grow exponentially in the coming years – and with incumbent technologies nearing technical maturity, innovation in emerging new battery technologies is poised to increase dramatically,” added Pelin Yilmaz, Investment Director at ICIG Ventures. “Octet’s proven, easily-deployed, and wholly unique electrolyte specialty chemistry positions the company to become a critical go-to provider supporting that rapid growth. We’re thrilled to partner with Octet in this important work.”
Per McKinsey estimates, the market for grid and stationary energy storage is expected to reach at least $120 billion by 2030 at an annual growth rate of 29%.
Octet’s current funding round will be open through the end of Q1 2025. Parties wishing to be included before closing can contact onas.bolton@octetsci.com.
Octet Scientific, Inc. is ensuring that tomorrow’s best batteries have their best electrolyte inside. Our OctoLyte® additive chemicals give batteries the high performance they need for higher capacity, better efficiency and longer cycle life in the future’s most demanding applications like grid storage, backup power and anywhere safe and high-performing energy storage is needed. Since 2017, Octet has been the electrolyte experts, creating new additives specifically to bring optimum performance to water-based batteries on the grid and in our businesses and homes. For more information visit www.octetsci.com.
About ICIG
International Chemical Investors Group is a privately owned industrial group with a total turnover of more than €4 billion. ICIG focuses on several main platforms: Fine Chemicals under the WeylChem brand, Care Chemicals (Catexel), Chlorovinyls (Vynova), Compounds (Benvic), Hydrocarbons & Solvents (HCS Group), Superabsorbents (Stockhausen Superabsorber) and Enterprises with specialized businesses in industrial drying services, fermentation products, viscose filaments, activated carbon and wood protection chemicals. Today, the ICIG companies employ more than 7,800 people and operate more than 50 production sites in Europe, the U.S and India.
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