Developing new industrial batteries that are cheaper, more reliable, and more environmentally friendly than lithium-ion batteries is a goal for battery technology companies that is becoming a reality.
A battery technology company was trying to achieve its goal of manufacturing and selling an alternative product, but the high cost of developing such technology hindered its success.
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Ambry, an emerging liquid metal battery technology company backed by billionaire Bill Gates' venture capital firm Gates Frontier, Paulson Partners and Reliance New Energy, is set to begin production of its innovative product. It was then that the manufacturing facility needed to be completed.
Unfortunately, the battery technology company lacked the necessary funds and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 5, seeking to sell assets to pre-petition senior bondholders.
The Marlborough, Massachusetts-based battery development company received $4 million in Series A seed funding to support liquid metal battery technology developed by Professor Donald Sadoway and Dr. David Bradwell of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2010. Co-founded. The patented liquid metal battery technology has 103 issued and pending patents.
The company is committed to a cleaner energy future that is low cost, highly reliable, extremely safe and with minimal degradation over its lifetime, capable of fundamentally changing the way power grids operate and power is delivered. He was said to have been working on the development of a liquid metal battery. court documents.
Power lines and power infrastructure adjacent to an Amazon Web Services data center construction site in Hilliard, Ohio, March 23, 2024. Photographer: Brian Kaiser/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Liquid metal batteries have advantages
The inventors of liquid metal battery technology say their products use materials that pose no risk of fire or thermal runaway, are easily separated at the end of their life, and are completely available, while reducing capital investment. They claim that they have many advantages over lithium-ion batteries, such as lower operating costs and lower operating costs. It is recyclable, resistant to capacity loss, and can be charged to its maximum designed capacity for extended periods of time.
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The company's bankruptcy issues arose after efforts to secure Series F funding in spring 2023 failed. The tech company has since sought a $50 million bridge loan in the fall of 2023 to fund its plans to scale back its operations, according to a statement from Ambry Chief Financial Officer Nora Murphy. Investors refused to participate, resulting in an $8 million shortfall.
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A lack of funding has hampered the company's plans to complete its manufacturing facility in Milford, Massachusetts.
The contract was valued at just $42 million and required Ambri to make cost-cutting measures, including cutting 105 employees starting in November 2023, according to court documents. The company also sought to restructure its debt by December 2024, but was unsuccessful.
Ambri decided the best option was to file a Chapter 11 petition and seek to sell the assets, according to court documents. The Debtor retained an affiliate of Portage Point Partners as its investment banker and restructuring advisor and secured $9.5 million in Debtor financing from prepetition secured lenders, including Gates Frontier and Paulson, and The funds were used to cover the costs of the chapter lawsuit. We seek to maximize transaction value through periodic working capital and ongoing business operations.
The debtor has also filed a motion seeking approval of a bidding process to sell all of its assets, and has set up an auction horse to make a credit bid of $38 million for the purchase of the assets, subject to a higher and more favorable offer. As a bidder, we requested that you specify a pre-application collateral lender. Section 363 Auctions.
Under the terms of the bidding procedure, the debtor provides a June 20 bid deadline and an auction to be held on June 24, provided there is at least one other qualified bidder in addition to the stalking horse. I'm looking for it. A sale hearing will be held on July 9 to approve the sale. The debtors aim to complete the sale by July 11.
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