AI Startup That Does EV-Related Materials Science Discovery Raises $8M - CleanTechnica

UK-based AI startup Polaron, specializing in materials science discovery for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, has raised $8 million in funding led by Racine2, with co-investments from Speedinvest and Futurepresent. Polaron focuses on improving battery performance not by changing chemistry but by optimizing manufacturing processes. By analyzing microscopy images of battery electrodes at the microstructural level—examining particles, grains, pores, and fibers formed during production—Polaron helps redesign manufacturing recipes to enhance energy density. Early deployments have achieved over 10% improvement in energy density by refining how electrodes are processed, such as mixing, drying, and compression, rather than altering the materials themselves. Polaron’s AI-driven platform enables EV makers and battery manufacturers to automate the interpretation of thousands of microscopy images, reducing subjectivity and accelerating research and development. It allows engineers to digitally explore a wide range of manufacturing parameters and predict their impact on battery performance, facilitating advancements in fast charging, energy density, and battery lifetime. The