SES AI Corporation (NYSE: SES), a global leader in high-performance Li-Metal battery development and manufacturing, has announced two significant advancements in its AI Initiative. First, Dr. Kang Xu, the company’s Chief Scientist, has been promoted to Chief Technology Officer (CTO) as of October 17, 2024, and will spearhead SES AI’s AI initiatives. Second, SES AI has signed its first commercial agreement with a major global electrolyte producer. This partnership aims to leverage AI to accelerate the development of Li-Metal and Li-ion electrolytes for key sectors: electric vehicles (EVs), heavy-duty trucking, consumer electronics, and grid storage.
“Our collaboration marks one of the first applications of AI in electric transportation, starting from the molecular level,” said SES AI CEO Qichao Hu. “We’ve already seen promising outcomes, including the discovery of novel molecules that have led to electrolytes with high coulombic efficiency and extended cycle life—crucial breakthroughs for our Li-Metal batteries in EV and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) applications.”
The promotion of Dr. Xu and the new commercial partnership represent critical milestones in SES AI’s mission to lead in battery material discovery. The company aims to build end-to-end capabilities that encompass molecular property mapping, AI model development, molecule synthesis, electrolyte formulation, production, and cell validation, from lab samples to commercial stages. According to Grand View Research, the global battery electrolyte market, currently valued at $12 billion, is projected to grow to $25 billion by 2030. AI is expected to revolutionize this space and open new avenues for electric mobility.
This AI-driven partnership is the first of its kind in the battery industry, accelerating the commercialization of Li-Metal for electric vehicles and UAM. Despite the vast potential—10^12 possible electrolyte molecules—only about 1,000 have been studied so far.
Dr. Kang Xu, a battery electrolyte expert with nearly 30 years of experience, joined SES AI in August 2023. Previously, he was with the Army Research Lab, where he held the prestigious title of Army Research Lab Fellow. As CTO, Dr. Xu now leads SES AI’s AI initiatives, overseeing a team of computational chemists, AI/ML scientists, data experts, and battery specialists to drive real-world, commercially viable solutions.
“The Li-ion battery has revolutionized the world over the past three decades, from the Sony Walkman to smartphones, laptops, and now electric mobility,” said Dr. Xu. “The electrolyte is a critical component, but many discoveries in this area have been serendipitous, and much about it remains a ‘black box.’ Our AI combines state-of-the-art computing with advances in computational chemistry to thoroughly map a wide array of molecular structures and properties. This data, combined with the expertise of our world-class team, helps train AI models to generate new molecules. These are then synthesized in our Electrolyte Foundry, formulated into electrolytes, and tested in cells, from lab-scale samples to A-sample and B-sample Li-Metal cells.