Aquion Energy, a rising star among manufacturers of large-scale energy storage systems, announced on Wednesday it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization amid struggles with fundraising from investors.
The company said it is in search of a buyer and hopes to emerge from bankruptcy “in the coming weeks.” It has laid off about 80 percent of its personnel, keeping only a core research and development team. The company has halted its factory operations in Westmoreland County and paused marketing and sales efforts, it said in a release.
“Creating a new electrochemistry and an associated battery platform at commercial scale is extremely complex, time-consuming, and very capital intensive,” read a statement jointly attributed to Scott Pearson, Aquion’s outgoing chief executive officer, and Suzanne Roski, a managing director at Protiviti, a Virginia-based consulting firm.
Ms. Roski was named Aquion Energy’s chief restructuring officer during the bankruptcy.
The statement continued, “Despite our best efforts to fund the company and continue to fuel our growth, the company has been unable to raise the growth capital needed to continue operating as a going concern.” Aquion could not be reached for comment beyond its statement.
The bankruptcy filing comes as the Lawrenceville-based manufacturer of sodium-ion batteries had apparently found success in deploying its technology. It generated hype and awards for its innovation, attracting investors along the way.
Aquion Energy had been spun out from Carnegie Mellon University in 2009 by Jay Whitacre, a CMU professor of materials science and engineering, attracting funding from venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
The year before, Mr. Whitacre had produced the first functioning aqueous hybrid ion battery, which the company has been producing since summer 2011. Aquion has been shipping its batteries commercially since mid-2014, according to its website.
Batteries like Aquion’s are considered the “holy grail” for widespread renewable energy development because they can store large amounts of energy for use during times when it is not easily produced — such as when the sun is not shining or when the wind is not blowing.
Aquion received many awards from energy and technology trade groups, and frequently shared its progress and thoughts on the battery market.
It was listed as one of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Top 100 Smartest Companies in 2015 and 2016, as well as picking up an award in 2015 from a German organization supporting the energy storage industry.
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