Bedrock Materials, a U.S. startup spun out of Stanford University in 2023, is gearing up to produce materials for sodium-ion batteries to help make electric vehicles more affordable. The company’s CEO, Spencer Gore, is a former Tesla engineer.
According to a company press release, Bedrock Materials specializes in the production of materials for sodium-ion batteries. Currently headquartered in an incubator building in Chicago, Bedrock plans to move to a larger, permanent location by the end of the year.
The startup recently closed a seed financing round of $9 million and opened a research and development center in Chicago. Since last month, Bedrock has been producing “battery precursor materials on a research and development scale,” according to the company.
The decision to base operations in Chicago is influenced by the region’s strong presence of materials science research institutions, including Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois, and the Illinois Institute of Technology. The Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, a leader in sodium-ion battery development, also contributed to the decision, along with an incentive package from the state of Illinois.
“The choice to come to Chicago was an easy one. There is arguably one active laboratory in America that has produced a successful automotive battery chemistry, and it’s here,” said CEO Spencer Gore. “Argonne National Laboratory wrote the book on modern sodium-ion technology. Today, pulling on the deep regional talent pool they have built, we are excited to perfect and scale it.”
Bedrock Materials was founded by Rafael Vilá, CTO and battery scientist at Stanford University, and CEO Spencer Gore. The company’s management and advisory team includes “current and former executives from Tesla, Volkswagen, General Motors, Samsung, Panasonic, QuantumScape, Sila Nanotechnologies, Enovix, and Apple.”