The Fulton Market District will become the research and development hub for Bedrock Materials, a Silicon Valley battery technology startup founded last year.
The company, which produces essential materials for low-cost, environmentally friendly sodium-ion batteries, will temporarily operate out of mHUB, an 80,000-square-foot business incubator at 1623 W. Fulton Street, before opening a larger, permanent facility. There are plans to open one. Chicago Inno reported later this year.
The headquarters move comes after the company successfully raised $9 million in seed funding.
Bedrock’s relocation was encouraged by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s Reimagine Energy and Vehicle Program. As part of the tax credit agreement, the company committed to investing $2.5 million and creating at least 25 jobs. The investment will be used to purchase and lease at least 15,000 square feet of manufacturing facility by the end of 2028.
Bedrock co-founder and CEO Spencer Gore, a University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign alumnus, brings together strong materials science research institutions in the region, including Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois, and the Illinois Institute of Technology. listed as an important element. In that decision.
“There’s probably one active laboratory in the United States that has had success with car battery chemistry, and it’s here,” Gore told the magazine. “Argonne National Laboratory wrote the book on modern sodium ion technology, and now we are excited to leverage the region’s rich talent pool they have built to perfect and expand it. ”
Governor JB Pritzker welcomed the company and emphasized that Illinois’ burgeoning electric vehicle supply chain is expected to foster innovation and job creation in the state’s EV economy. According to its website, the Prutticker Trauvelt Foundation is a donor to mHUB. mHUB is a nonprofit organization founded in 2016 by former World Business Chicago economic development strategist Haven Allen.
Bedrock Materials’ $9 million funding round was led by Trucks Venture Capital, Refactor Capital, and Version One Ventures, with contributions from a number of other investors in the electric vehicle and battery space.
—Quinn Donahue
