Ionic Materials has secured $65 million in a Series C financing round from investors in the battery manufacturing, consumer electronic and EV fields, who will be working with the company to speed the development of its solid polymer electrolyte battery material.

“This funding round will allow us to add to our talented technical staff while continuing to engage and partner with companies interested in developing tomorrow’s solid-state battery technology today,” said founder and CEO Mike Zimmerman.

Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi’s Alliance Ventures, which is focused on electrification, autonomy, connectivity and artificial intelligence, is one of the strategic investors. The Alliance has also signed a joint-development agreement with Ionic to cooperate on R&D.

Massachusetts-based Ionic has developed a solid polymer electrolyte that is compatible with chemistries having much higher theoretical performance limits than the materials used in current batteries. According to Ionic, replacing a liquid electrolyte with its solid plastic polymer material makes solid-state batteries that are safe, cheaper and operational at room temperature possible for the first time. Ionic’s electrolyte also supports lithium-ion cells with little to no cobalt in their cathodes.

“The Ionic Materials polymer is truly groundbreaking,” said investor and Board Member Bill Joy. “The many innovations in electrochemistry that the polymer unlocks will change the future of renewable energy.”

“Ionic Materials has created a new composition of matter that will be fundamental to the transformation of the battery as we know it,” said Jan van Dokkum, a Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. “Over my 30-year career working in energy storage, Ionic Materials’ polymer stands out as a breakthrough innovation that is a critical element to the next generation of batteries.”

MORE: Ionic Materials featured in episode of PBS’s Nova, “Search for the Super Battery”

Sources: Ionic Materials