Battgenie

BattGenie Inc. is a battery management solutions provider that originated in the laboratories of Professor Venkat Subramanian at the University of Washington. The company, which began in 2013 and was incorporated in 2017, is a spin-off from the university. It was co-founded by CEO Dr. Manan Pathak, CPO Dr. Chintan Pathak, and CTO and Chief Scientific Advisor Professor Venkat Subramanian. Both Dr. Manan Pathak and Dr. Chintan Pathak earned their doctoral degrees from the University of Washington, with Manan's thesis focusing on model-based Battery Management Systems and Chintan's on the optimal locations of battery charging stations. Professor Subramanian, currently at the University of Texas, Austin, is a leading researcher in energy systems engineering and electrochemical engineering. His lab was where the initial research for BattGenie was conducted.

The company's core business revolves around developing advanced software to enhance the performance of lithium-ion batteries. This software is designed to make batteries safer, last longer, and charge faster. BattGenie serves a diverse client base that includes hardware vendors, OEMs, and battery manufacturers in the electric vehicle, consumer electronics, and grid storage sectors across the U.S., Europe, and Southeast Asia. The business model centers on providing this software, which can be installed on existing controllers on a device or its charger without requiring new hardware. The company has received significant funding, including a $1.5 million seed round in April 2022 from Powerhouse Ventures and VoLo Earth Ventures, and multiple grants from organizations like the Department of Energy and the Washington State Department of Commerce.

BattGenie's main offering is a software solution that uses physics-based models to optimize battery charging and discharging. Unlike traditional empirical models, BattGenie's patented technology, which utilizes porous electrode pseudo-2-dimensional (P2D) models, is significantly faster and more accurate. This allows the system to solve and implement battery operation solutions in milliseconds. The software analyzes the internal workings of a lithium-ion battery and adjusts the charging profile to mitigate degradation, which has been shown to improve battery cycle life by up to 100% compared to standard charging methods. This technology is compatible with various battery chemistries, manufacturers, and form factors. A key achievement for the company was its participation in an accelerator program led by Shell Global and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which provided independent validation of its technology.

Keywords: battery management systems, lithium-ion batteries, electric vehicles, consumer electronics, grid storage, software solutions, battery optimization, fast charging, battery lifespan, energy storage