Officials at the Carlsbad-based startup hope the battery technology they develop will transform the way electric bicycles and electric hand tools are charged. And once scaled up, they believe the technology will reshape even more sectors of the economy.
“We're unleashing the battery here,” said Daniel Glenn, president of Zapbat, headquartered in a 4,000-square-foot office near McClellan-Palomar Airport.
ZapBatt engineers designed a battery operating system that acts as a universal adapter for electrically powered devices.
At the bench, David Felser, the company's co-founder and chief technology officer, takes a 12-volt battery and, through a process using ZapBatt's software and hardware technology, raises the effective voltage level to 25 volts ( voltage (enough to power a cordless vacuum cleaner). within seconds.
“Traditionally, you couldn't just plug a 12-volt or 18-volt battery into your vacuum cleaner. That just doesn't work,” Felser said. “But we manipulate the voltage to get everything we need.”
ZapBatt's technology uses trademarked SCiB Toshiba lithium titanium oxide (LTO) battery cells during the process.
ZapBatt officials also say the company's battery operating system opens the door to a variety of battery chemistries for easy integration into all kinds of consumer products, from power tools and appliances to e-bikes and industrial robots. It says that it will open.
“This is really a starting point for us,” said Glenn, who is also ZapBatt's chief operating officer. “We are ready to go to market and open to anyone interested in this technology. We are also in talks with several major companies.”
A close-up of a ZapBatt battery pack using Toshiba SCiB cells on a bench at ZapBatt headquarters in Carlsbad.
(Rob Nikolewski/San Diego Union-Tribune)
Already partnering with Toshiba, ZapBatt and the Japanese electronics giant recently announced an expansion of their partnership efforts.
“By breaking through technical and cost barriers to enter previously unreachable markets, our technology can be applied to a broader market,” Greg Mack, vice president and general manager of Toshiba, said in a statement. “It became like that.”
One of the selling points of Toshiba's SCiB technology is its safety.
Since most electronic devices use lithium-ion battery chemistry, there have been instances of fires occurring. Although relatively rare, excessive heat or circuit failure within a battery can cause a cascading chemical reaction called “thermal runaway.”
However, Glenn said there is no record of thermal runaway with the LTO batteries that ZapBatt focuses on.
“This is a huge benefit,” Glenn said. Especially after a series of fatal fires in New York City related to overheating e-bikes. The New York City Fire Department reported 267 fires in 2023, resulting in 18 deaths and 150 injuries.
Additionally, LTO batteries boast the ability to operate at temperatures as low as -22 degrees Fahrenheit.
ZapBatt's battery operating system also touts:
- Reach 80% charge within 6 minutes;
- Extends battery life to over 20,000 cycles, even with fast charging and discharging.
“With LTO, you can have a battery that lasts 20,000 cycles with almost no degradation, instead of 1,000 or 1,500 cycles,” Glenn says.
This will have a major impact on a variety of environments, including warehouses and distribution centers, where robots and automated systems are increasingly relied on to move equipment and transport materials.
Felser envisions advances in battery technology ranging from electric bicycles, home appliances, and manufacturing to electric cars, self-driving cars, and even airplanes that run on electricity instead of jet fuel.
“What's newly unleashed is a very interesting business model,” Felser said. “Now that we can expand beyond[battery]chemistry, we can now expand beyond producers and manufacturers to every possible market for rechargeable batteries.”
Safer battery technology could also alleviate concerns about thermal runaway in utility-scale battery-powered energy storage facilities. A 320-megawatt, 1,280-megawatt-hour facility that renewable energy company AES is planning to build between Escondido and San Marcos has some concerns that a fire could break out if the facility is built. has faced opposition from nearby residents.
Improving battery technology “has a lot of domino effects,” Felser said.
A study by international consulting firm McKinsey & Company estimates that the global battery market will grow by 30% annually as governments seek to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and transition to electrification. California policymakers intend to get 60 percent of the state's electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and 100 percent from carbon-free sources by 2045.
Privately held ZapBatt was founded in 2019 by Felser and CEO Charles Welch. He has a staff of 12 people, including 10 engineers.
Felser credits Welch with coming up with the company's name.
“It makes sense in a way,” Felser said. That's because the focus is on batteries that charge quickly. “It's like a zap. You just plug it in and lo and behold, it's fully charged.”
