UK-based battery startup Echion has signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korean supplier Energy Tech Solution to develop battery cells using XNO, a niobium-based anode material. ETS will manage cell design, provide manufacturing technology, and produce demonstration cells at its facility in Chungju.
The XNO material is designed to replace graphite in lithium-ion batteries while remaining compatible with standard electrode coating lines. It supports a continuous charging rate of up to 10C, potentially allowing a full charge in six minutes, and offers over 15,000 to 50,000 charge cycles depending on usage conditions.
Echion claims XNO provides roughly double the energy density of lithium titanate technology. The company targets industrial applications, including mining and rail vehicles, ships, forklifts, and stationary storage systems for data centers.
Industrial production of XNO began in 2025 at a facility in Araxá, Brazil, operated in partnership with CBMM. This site has an annual capacity of 2,000 tonnes, sufficient for approximately 1 GWh of battery cells. The new collaboration with ETS aims to scale the development and manufacturing of specific cell formats.
