The first cells were produced with all commercial grade components using manual settings to refine the product design for future automated production. Magnis Energy said this is the first stage of demonstration of its ability to synchronise material science, engineering and process knowledge to produce a commercially viable lithium-ion battery (LIB) cell.

It added that while the volumes would increase with fully optimised and automated lines, the current phase works towards production grade design and de-risks design unknowns involved in the transition from pilot production to full scale production.

Chaitanya Sharma, CEO of iM3NY, commented: "Today's achievement has been produced with long hours by a committed team that continues to expand. We will keep working around the clock to achieve our production milestones."

The Imperium3 consortium is jointly owned by Magnis Energy Technologies, Charge CCCV and Boston Energy and Innovation. The lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant in New York is a multi-phase project that will ultimately provide battery cell manufacturing capacities equivalent to 15GWh/y. In February 2021, Magnis Energy unveiled a A$34 million placement to undisclosed investors for the plant.