Detroit’s Assembly Ventures Invests in Extended Range EV Startup in Novi

Assembly Ventures, which has offices in Detroit and Berlin and is the first transatlantic mobility fund in the world, today announced its investment into Our Next Energy Inc. (ONE), an energy storage solutions startup in Novi.
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an our next energy storage system
Assembly Ventures today announced its investment into Our Next Energy Inc in Novi, an energy storage solutions startup. // Courtesy of Our Next Energy

Assembly Ventures, which has offices in Detroit and Berlin and is the first transatlantic mobility fund in the world, today announced its investment into Our Next Energy Inc. (ONE), an energy storage solutions startup in Novi.

ONE, founded in July 2020, has demonstrated technologies that can double the range of electric vehicles, a key to increasing adoption. In addition to improving range, ONE is focused on lowering costs while adopting chemistries that don’t pose a thermal runaway risk.

The company’s product line includes the Aries battery, which has a Structural Cell to Pack architecture that yields higher system-level energy density than leading competitors. Aries uses safe and sustainable cathode chemistry (LFP) to avoid thermal runaway and offers a scalable architecture that can be configured in series and parallel as well as additional customization.

There’s also the Gemini battery, which uses ONE’s proprietary energy management system and chemistry in a dual battery range extender architecture. ONE calculates that the Gemini architecture will allow conventional trucks and SUVs to travel 700 miles on a single charge.

For the new investment, the US$25 million Series A financing includes a syndicate consisting of Assembly Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, BMW i Ventures, Flex, and Volta Energy Technologies. As part of the transaction, Chris Thomas, co-founder and partner at Assembly Ventures, will join ONE as a board observer.

“Mujeeb and his team at ONE are building revolutionary technology that will help drive EV adoption, and we at Assembly Ventures are excited to be part of the journey,” says Jessica Robinson, co-founder and partner at Assembly Ventures in Detroit.

“The battery space remains ripe with investment yet we believe ONE stands apart for their innovations in energy management and a dual-battery approach, which together can harness high density energy chemistries to significantly expand battery range.”

In addition to ONE’s dual-battery range extender technology, the company is addressing the entire supply chain from battery pack designs to battery materials, says Felix Scheuffelen, co-founder and partner at Assembly Ventures based in Berlin. “We believe the combination of technological approach and component chemistry will result in a battery that is capable of high performance and longer range, which is currently a key constraint for potential EV buyers around the world,” he says.

“Assembly Ventures and ONE are uniquely aligned in our missions,” says Mujeeb Ijaz, CEO and founder of ONE. “We believe in the power of combining emerging technologies like ours with the industrialization skills and assets found in states like Michigan.”

ONE will use proceeds from its Series A financing to accelerate growth, hire additional talent, and invest in R&D as it readies for commercialization.

“The decision to invest in ONE came down to the quality of their team, the uniqueness of their approach, and the importance of their mission,” says Thomas. “We decided to partner with Mujeeb and his team at ONE given their strong backgrounds across the automotive, energy, and technology sectors.

“ONE is truly an ‘only-in-Michigan’ story that exemplifies the opportunity Western industrial centers have to create the technology that will drive the future of mobility. Their focus on upending the chemistry of electrified propulsion, while also creating an ethical and secure supply chain, is both distinct and long overdue.”

Assembly Ventures invests in and strategically supports the entrepreneurs and mobility companies moving the western world.