As the race toward electrification accelerates, the United States faces mounting pressure to close the competitiveness gap with Asia’s battery powerhouses. While China, Japan, and South Korea have long dominated global cell manufacturing through scale and maturity, American innovators are charting a different course — one built on agility, efficiency, and disruptive thinking.
In this exclusive Q&A, Naoki Ota, CEO and President of 24M Technologies, shares how his company’s pioneering Electrode-to-Pack (ETOP) architecture redefines what’s possible in battery design and manufacturing. From cutting production costs by up to 40% to boosting EV range by as much as 50%, Ota explains why the next generation of electric mobility may depend less on catching up — and more on reimagining how batteries are built.
Global EV adoption is accelerating, yet U.S. battery manufacturers and automakers are still playing catch-up with larger, more established competitors. What will it take for the U.S. to close the gap and regain leadership?
The answer is quite simple actually — we need to think differently and move faster. I know we have the ability; now we need the resolve to make it happen.
Overall, your premise is accurate. Companies in China, Japan, and South Korea indeed operate larger factories, benefit from mature supply chains, and have decades of experience, allowing them to produce batteries faster and at lower cost. Because of that, the U.S. currently trails these larger manufacturers in battery production. Trying to replicate their exact formula will leave the U.S. perpetually behind.
Instead, we must focus on leapfrogging competitors through battery innovation. That means rethinking how batteries are made, rather than forcing outdated, one-size-fits-all cells into advanced applications. Success depends on embracing new manufacturing methods, addressing safety challenges at the source, and creating cells that deliver higher performance without compromising cost, safety or size. Only then can the U.S. set new global standards instead of chasing existing ones.
How does 24M Technologies play a role in closing the global competitiveness gap?
24M is a battery technology company committed to solving the hardest problems in the industry, from cost and complexity to performance and safety. Rather than competing head-to-head with legacy manufacturers on conventional lithium-ion cells, 24M is creating technology that reimagines how batteries are designed and built.
Innovations like 24M ETOP (Electrode-to-Pack) exemplify the out-of-the-box thinking needed to gain a competitive edge. Instead of assembling thousands of small cells into modules and then packs, 24M ETOP integrates sealed electrodes directly into the pack structure. This eliminates bulky casings, connectors, and other non-charge-carrying materials required by conventional cell-to-module-to-pack approaches, pushing electrode content well over 70% of pack volume — compared to 30–60% in traditional designs. This creates the highest pack level energy density available. By simplifying production and improving performance, 24M ETOP gives U.S. manufacturers a path to produce high-performance batteries domestically, faster, and more cost-effectively than conventional methods allow.
What specific challenges in traditional battery manufacturing does 24M ETOP solve, and why are these changes so critical for U.S.-based manufacturers?
Traditional lithium-ion battery designs haven’t changed much in over 30 years, and they come with built-in constraints. Automakers are forced to design vehicles around the size and shape of existing cells, which limits performance, design, and innovation. But with 24M ETOP, manufacturers gain the freedom to build compact, high-voltage systems tailored to specific applications.
Safety and manufacturing costs are additional hurdles. Traditional cells use large quantities of flammable electrolytes and are prone to risks from manufacturing defects that lead to internal shorts and thermal runaway, often requiring bulky protective structures that further reduce efficiency. 24M addresses these risks at the source: 24M ETOP seals each electrode pair in thin films, preventing electrode misalignment and minimizing flammable electrolyte use and Impervio, 24M’s functionalized separator, suppresses dendrites and monitors cells for internal defects. Combined these technologies eliminate the need for individual metal cans and bulking materials to contain fires after they start by preventing them in the first place.
On the production side, 24M ETOP’s streamlined approach cuts capital expenditures, since sealed electrodes can be assembled, stacked, and sealed into packs with far fewer machines and processes than conventional factories require. This approach reduces manufacturing costs by up to 40%.
Combined, these changes open a path to lower costs, greater safety, and true differentiation in a competitive global market for U.S. automakers and battery manufacturers.
What about for consumers? How do 24M ETOP’s advantages translate into real-world benefits for EV drivers?
For drivers, the most immediate benefit of 24M ETOP is range. Traditional lithium-ion packs waste 40–70% of their space on non-energy-storing components. 24M ETOP removes those redundancies by packaging sealed electrodes directly into the pack. That boosts the proportion of active material contained in the pack to up to 80% of total volume, giving EVs as much as 50% more range without increasing pack size. An EV with 300 miles of range — common in today’s mid-sized EVs — could now drive over 400 miles on a single charge with 24M ETOP, reducing range anxiety for everyday drivers.
Cost is another major factor. Because 24M ETOP is chemistry agnostic, automakers can reduce production costs and use lower-cost chemistries like LFP while still achieving the range of pricier NMC cells. This makes EVs more affordable for consumers while maintaining performance.
EV makers are notoriously protective of their IP and supply chains — what barriers do you anticipate in convincing automakers to adopt a new architecture like 24M ETOP?
The greatest obstacle isn’t just technical, it’s cultural. For decades, automakers have designed vehicles around the limitations of conventional batteries, building supply chains, factories, and organizational structures around that model. Shifting to an architecture like 24M ETOP requires a different mindset: viewing the battery not as a constraint, but as an enabler. Making that leap means rethinking pack design, manufacturing methods, and even how teams collaborate across the organization.
Strategically, many U.S. companies are still trying to scale traditional lithium-ion technologies to catch up with Asia’s manufacturing speed and efficiency. But the real opportunity lies in disruptive technologies that leap beyond today’s standard. Instead of locking themselves into the status quo, by embracing change U.S. manufacturers can rewrite their story and regain leadership in the global market.
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