BMW i Ventures Announces Investment in Battery Startup Our Next Energy.
- Phil DiIanni
Mountain View, CA - October 18, 2021 – BMW i Ventures announced today an investment in Our Next Energy Inc. (ONE), a Michigan-based energy storage solutions company working to develop longer range, lower cost batteries for electric vehicles.
“Our Next Energy is working to fundamentally reinvent the battery while focusing on sustainability, safety and cost; three key factors which will help speed the development and adoption of battery electric vehicles,” said Baris Guzel, partner at BMW i Ventures. “We are convinced that Our Next Energy has the potential to truly transform the space, and we could not be more excited to join their journey.”
ONE has demonstrated two proprietary technologies – the first, called “Aries”, uses Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) chemistry in an advanced structural cell to pack architecture reaching very high cell to pack ratios and system level energy density. This results in an increase in battery range and decrease in costs while eliminating nickel and cobalt based chemistries. The second, dubbed “Gemini,” uses ONE’s proprietary energy management system and chemistry in a dual battery range extender architecture.
“BMW i Ventures has a proven track record of successful collaboration with startups with leading technologies to shape future mobility,” said Mujeeb Ijaz, CEO and Founder of Our Next Energy. “We are excited to collaborate with Baris and his team as we work to demonstrate our core technologies.”
Our Next Energy will use the investment to scale production of its first products.
About BMW i Ventures
BMW i Ventures is BMW’s venture capital firm, investing money and resources in startups in the fields of Transportation, Manufacturing, Supply Chain and Sustainability. The firm has made many successful investments over the years in companies such as AutoFi, Chargepoint, Graphcore, Urgent.ly, Proterra, PureCycle, Solid Power, Tekion, Turntide, Xometry and Zum. BMW i Ventures invests in all stages from seed to growth with a focus on Series A/B.
About Our Next Energy
Our Next Energy Inc. (ONE) is a Michigan-based developer of innovative energy storage solutions with a vision to rapidly expand the world’s access to sustainable power. Founded in 2020 by Mujeeb Ijaz, a battery systems engineer with more than 30 years of experience, ONE and its team of experienced battery engineers are focused on safer battery chemistries that use the most sustainable raw materials while creating a reliable, low cost and conflict-free supply chain. Visit one.ai to learn more.
BMW Group in the United States.
BMW of North America, LLC was established 50 years ago to support the sales, marketing and distribution of BMW automobiles in the U.S. BMW Motorrad was brought into the fold in 1980. In 1993 BMW Group Financial Services NA, LLC was founded, and one year later BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC began assembling vehicles in South Carolina. In 2002 and 2003, BMW Group established MINI USA, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC relaunching two iconic brands and rounding out its product portfolio.
Today, the BMW Group has a nationwide corporate footprint in the U.S. which consists of nearly 30 locations in 12 different states. Beyond the National Sales Company and Financial Services headquarters in Woodcliff Lake, NJ, its manufacturing plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and numerous other operational facilities, BMW Group in the U.S. also includes Designworks, a strategic design consultancy in Santa Monica, CA, BMW Group Technology Office USA, a technology research and development center in Silicon Valley, and BMW i Ventures, a venture capital fund, also in Silicon Valley.
BMW Group Plant Spartanburg is the largest single BMW production facility in the world, and the global center of competence for BMW Sports Activity Vehicles including the X3, X4, X5, X6, X7, and XM. The plant assembles more than 1,500 vehicles each day, and up to 450,000 annually. Since 1994, Plant Spartanburg has assembled nearly 7 million BMW vehicles in the U.S.
The BMW Group sales organization in the U.S. is represented through a network of 350 BMW retailers, 144 BMW motorcycle retailers, 105 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. The company’s activities provide and support over 120,000 jobs across the U.S. and contribute more than 43.3 billion to the U.S. economy annually.
Journalist note: Information about BMW Group and its products in the USA is available to journalists on-line at www.bmwusanews.com www.miniusanews.com and www.press.bmwna.com
“Our Next Energy is working to fundamentally reinvent the battery while focusing on sustainability, safety and cost; three key factors which will help speed the development and adoption of battery electric vehicles,” said Baris Guzel, partner at BMW i Ventures. “We are convinced that Our Next Energy has the potential to truly transform the space, and we could not be more excited to join their journey.”
ONE has demonstrated two proprietary technologies – the first, called “Aries”, uses Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) chemistry in an advanced structural cell to pack architecture reaching very high cell to pack ratios and system level energy density. This results in an increase in battery range and decrease in costs while eliminating nickel and cobalt based chemistries. The second, dubbed “Gemini,” uses ONE’s proprietary energy management system and chemistry in a dual battery range extender architecture.
“BMW i Ventures has a proven track record of successful collaboration with startups with leading technologies to shape future mobility,” said Mujeeb Ijaz, CEO and Founder of Our Next Energy. “We are excited to collaborate with Baris and his team as we work to demonstrate our core technologies.”
Our Next Energy will use the investment to scale production of its first products.
About BMW i Ventures
BMW i Ventures is BMW’s venture capital firm, investing money and resources in startups in the fields of Transportation, Manufacturing, Supply Chain and Sustainability. The firm has made many successful investments over the years in companies such as AutoFi, Chargepoint, Graphcore, Urgent.ly, Proterra, PureCycle, Solid Power, Tekion, Turntide, Xometry and Zum. BMW i Ventures invests in all stages from seed to growth with a focus on Series A/B.
About Our Next Energy
Our Next Energy Inc. (ONE) is a Michigan-based developer of innovative energy storage solutions with a vision to rapidly expand the world’s access to sustainable power. Founded in 2020 by Mujeeb Ijaz, a battery systems engineer with more than 30 years of experience, ONE and its team of experienced battery engineers are focused on safer battery chemistries that use the most sustainable raw materials while creating a reliable, low cost and conflict-free supply chain. Visit one.ai to learn more.
BMW Group in the United States.
BMW of North America, LLC was established 50 years ago to support the sales, marketing and distribution of BMW automobiles in the U.S. BMW Motorrad was brought into the fold in 1980. In 1993 BMW Group Financial Services NA, LLC was founded, and one year later BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC began assembling vehicles in South Carolina. In 2002 and 2003, BMW Group established MINI USA, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC relaunching two iconic brands and rounding out its product portfolio.
Today, the BMW Group has a nationwide corporate footprint in the U.S. which consists of nearly 30 locations in 12 different states. Beyond the National Sales Company and Financial Services headquarters in Woodcliff Lake, NJ, its manufacturing plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and numerous other operational facilities, BMW Group in the U.S. also includes Designworks, a strategic design consultancy in Santa Monica, CA, BMW Group Technology Office USA, a technology research and development center in Silicon Valley, and BMW i Ventures, a venture capital fund, also in Silicon Valley.
BMW Group Plant Spartanburg is the largest single BMW production facility in the world, and the global center of competence for BMW Sports Activity Vehicles including the X3, X4, X5, X6, X7, and XM. The plant assembles more than 1,500 vehicles each day, and up to 450,000 annually. Since 1994, Plant Spartanburg has assembled nearly 7 million BMW vehicles in the U.S.
The BMW Group sales organization in the U.S. is represented through a network of 350 BMW retailers, 144 BMW motorcycle retailers, 105 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. The company’s activities provide and support over 120,000 jobs across the U.S. and contribute more than 43.3 billion to the U.S. economy annually.
Journalist note: Information about BMW Group and its products in the USA is available to journalists on-line at www.bmwusanews.com www.miniusanews.com and www.press.bmwna.com