Heavy duty vehicles move over 70% of U.S. freight but make up just 1% of vehicles. Yet they account for 20% of transportation emissions and 33% of harmful pollutants like formaldehyde and PM2.5. As cities implement zero emission zones, today’s lithium-ion batteries fall short of the power demands needed for heavy transport, often requiring two to three times the power of consumer EVs. This mirrors the early days of combustion engines, which had to evolve from gasoline to power dense diesel to meet the demands of trucking. The key bottleneck today is poor lithium-ion transport in current electrodes, which leads to overheating, inefficiency, and thermal runaway.

During my PhD, I became deeply interested in what limits fast charging and large power output in lithium-ion batteries. I found that commonly used negative electrodes, like graphite and nano silicon, lack the intrinsic properties needed for rapid ion transport, resulting in slow charging and inefficient power delivery. Materials that do support fast lithium movement are often expensive or difficult to produce at scale, creating a major barrier to commercialization.

Together with my co-founder Zach Wylie, we developed a novel and scalable method to mass produce nanoparticles that dramatically improve lithium-ion mobility and thermal stability. By blending a small amount of our material into conventional electrodes, we can enhance the performance of existing batteries, making them more powerful, efficient, and safer without requiring significant changes to manufacturing processes.

At JanuTech, our mission is to accelerate the electrification of heavy transport by enabling low-cost, high-power batteries that meet the rigorous demands of commercial fleets. While zero emission mandates aim to improve air quality, rapid policy shifts without scalable and high-performance solutions risk leaving behind both workers and underserved communities. Our technology supports a just transition by making electrification practical and profitable for fleet operators.

In an era marked by extreme weather and escalating climate threats, we believe clean energy should not come at the cost of equity or feasibility. At JanuTech, we are building a future where high performance batteries drive both sustainability and social impact, ensuring that no community is left behind in the shift to clean mobility.