TDK Corporation announced that its subsidiary, TDK Ventures Inc., has invested in Peak Energy, a pioneering startup industrializing sodium-ion to accelerate the renewable energy transition. Peak Energy’s groundbreaking approach provides innovative, resilient, and domestically sourced energy storage while offering a safety net against increasing energy demands, supply chain volatility, and climate change concerns.

As the United States’ energy consumption has reached an all-time high – spurred by a large population, ambitious federal renewable energy goals, and the burgeoning electric vehicle (EV) market – it has an urgent technology gap for energy-storage solutions. By 2030, it is estimated that the United States will require a staggering 600 GWh of energy storage, translating into a market value of approximately $40 billion. However, existing solutions – primarily based on lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) or nickel/manganese/cobalt (NMC) technologies – are plagued with a fragile international supply chain of lithium. Additionally, due to the fact that lithium-ion is banned in New York, as well as a tendency to catch on fire, the country also faces the need for higher safety standards for grid-scale energy storage. Peak’s sodium-ion-based energy storage systems present a safer solution for utility-scale storage customers and, more importantly, is part of a solution for the United States to modernize the grid.

Peak Energy has developed an innovative sodium-ion-based energy-storage solution that is expected to be more cost-effective, durable, and easier to mass produce domestically. Considered to be more abundant and less expensive, sodium is available in large reserves, particularly within the United States, which significantly relieves geopolitical risks tied to LFP or NMC supply-chain logistics. Moreover, the company focuses on creating batteries that match and potentially outperform existing technologies. Led by a veteran team of industry experts, including CEO Landon Mossburg (former President of Northvolt) and President and Chief Commercial Officer Cameron Dales (former CCO of Enovix that went public on NASDAQ), Peak Energy is well-positioned to disrupt the energy-storage landscape with its focus on quickly establishing local supply chains, domestic gigafactory construction, and grid-scale production capabilities.