Launch NY portfolio company Dimien acquired by Pure Lithium

Buffalo-based Dimien’s clean energy technology attracted larger buyer in lithium metal battery space

 

Two different Launch NY investments drove Dimien’s growth

 

Oct. 22, 2024, Buffalo, N.Y. – Launch NY is pleased to announce that one of its portfolio companies, Dimien, has been acquired by a larger business based in Boston at the cutting edge of clean energy technology.

 

The acquisition by Pure Lithium sets Dimien on an exciting new course, as Dimien’s vanadium-based cathode material will be used to commercialize a unique lithium metal battery. Pure Lithium acquired Dimien’s intellectual property, manufacturing equipment and took on its experienced team.

 

Dimien was launched out of a University at Buffalo chemistry lab and went on to win UB’s Panasci entrepreneurship competition in 2013. Dr. Brian Schultz, the company’s founder and former CEO, is set to join Pure Lithium as vice president of business development and technology.

 

Launch NY backed the company two different times, including a $75,000 investment in 2021 and another $75,000 investment in 2023. Both investments involved $50,000 from Launch NY’s nonprofit seed fund and $25,000 from its for-profit limited partner fund.

 

The company has long been focused on translating cutting-edge materials research into commercially viable products at the intersection of clean energy and electrification. Dimien’s work in developing high-capacity, safe batteries explored use cases in electric vehicles and other storage applications, including domestic energy storage.

 

“Dimien is more evidence that Upstate New York can support world-class R&D and commercialization at the forefront of the global electrification push,” said Marnie LaVigne, Ph.D., president and CEO of Launch NY. “Launch NY extremely proud of its role in putting this region on the map, creating new opportunities for cutting-edge research and supporting entrepreneurs as they spin out products and services that are relevant on an international scale.”

 

Read the announcement of the deal from Dimien and Pure Lithium here.

Dimien forged a research collaboration with Dr. Stanley Whittingham, a Nobel Prize-winning lithium-ion battery expert at Binghamton University. Whittingham is an important figure in Upstate New York’s growing stature as an energy storage hub, including the Upstate New York Energy Storage Engine project, which received a $63.67 million federal NSF Engines award. Whittingham serves as chief innovation officer for the project, which is hosted at Binghamton University. Launch NY is among the “core partners” for the NSF Engines project, a first-of-its-kind R&D center around advanced, sustainable battery technologies.

 

Together with related initiatives such as Battery NY and New Energy New York, the combined projects have attracted more than $200 million in federal funding for the energy storage industry in Upstate New York.

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About Launch NY: Launch NY is the only nonprofit venture development organization and U.S. Treasury-designated Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that serves and directly funds startups in Upstate New York. The core mission of Launch NY is to identify, support and invest in high‐growth, high‐impact companies and to catalyze the entrepreneurial culture of Upstate New York on behalf of job and wealth creation. Since its inception in 2012, Launch NY has served more than 1,700 companies which have gone on to raise more than $1.5 billion, generate more than $265 million in annual revenue and support more than 5,300 jobs.

 

Launch NY delivers its mission via mentorship and capital access programs, starting with pro bono mentoring through its Entrepreneur-in-Residence program, Founders Go Big program for underrepresented and underserved founders, and Emerging Cleantech Opportunity (ECO) Incubator. These programs prepare entrepreneurs for investment capital from multiple sources, including Launch NY’s InvestLocal Financing Programs comprised of nonprofit and for-profit investment funds, and the Investor Network deals marketplace that features hundreds of accredited investors. Through these vehicles, Launch NY is the most active seed investor in New York state and has been ranked among the top 5 nonprofit seed funds in the country. Women- and/or BIPOC-led companies have consistently comprised over 40% of Launch NY’s mentored companies and have received more than 55% of Launch NY’s investment capital.

 

For more information about Launch NY, its programs, and other entrepreneurial opportunities, visit www.launchny.org, and follow Launch NY on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

 

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