Xerion Advanced Battery Corp. Appoints Jim Thompson as Chief Financial Officer

Seasoned financial executive to bring decades of experience in fundraising, corporate finance and M&A across battery, renewable energy, and manufacturing sectors to emerging lithium-ion battery innovator

Xerion Advanced Battery Corp., a privately held manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries with a vision to revolutionize the energy industry through the development of disruptive technologies, announced today the appointment of Jim Thompson as Chief Financial Officer. The appointment is effective as of June 10, 2024.

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Jim Thompson, Chief Financial Officer, Xerion Advanced Battery Corp. (Photo: Business Wire)

Prior to Xerion, Thompson served as Chief Financial Officer for Relyion Energy, Inc., an advanced AI battery management and energy management company powered by physics-based intelligence and smart controls. Prior to Relyion, he held the role of Chief Financial Officer for Our Next Energy, Inc., where he was instrumental in securing $300 million in Series B funding as well as a $200 million state grant to support the next stage of the company’s electric vehicle battery manufacturing. In addition to his roles with Relyion and Our Next Energy, Thompson has held leadership positions at Ford Motor Company, Visteon and Johnson Controls, including an ex-patriate assignment as Finance Leader for Johnson Controls South American Operations based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he led a comprehensive restructuring of the business resulting in a substantial EBITDA improvement. Jim holds an MBA in Corporate Finance from the University of Michigan.

Thompson’s appointment comes at a critical time for Xerion as the company pursues ambitious commercialization plans for its revolutionary lithium-ion battery architecture and manufacturing process, which combine to deliver a dramatically lower-cost lithium-ion battery with higher energy density, higher power, faster charge, longer life, improved safety and 40% lower carbon emissions than conventional battery manufacturing.

“We are incredibly pleased to welcome Jim, whose depth of expertise in overseeing financial operations and raising capital for growing companies will be invaluable to Xerion’s ongoing commercialization efforts,” said John Busbee, co-Founder and CEO of Xerion. “Jim’s experience serving in financial leadership roles across a diverse cross-section of Fortune 500 companies and climate tech start-ups will be critical as we continue to scale and commercialize our lithium-ion battery technology in an effort to strengthen domestic battery supply chains and electrify our economy.”

“I am honored to join the impressive leadership team at Xerion during such a pivotal growth period for the company,” said Jim Thompson. “With the demand for innovative battery and energy storage technologies continuing to grow, and the need to develop a robust battery materials supply chain mounting, Xerion is well-positioned to capitalize. I look forward to working alongside John and the rest of the leadership team to execute the company’s exciting growth trajectory and commercialization plans.”

Xerion has spent more than a decade developing its novel lithium-ion battery technology, using a breakthrough production process and a novel new battery architecture to significantly reduce the cost of high-performance lithium-ion batteries. Xerion’s revolutionary manufacturing platform is founded upon two patented core technologies -- DirectPlate™, an innovative refining and deposition technique, and StructurePore™, a novel battery electrode architecture.

These core technologies combined deliver a dramatically lower-cost lithium-ion battery with higher energy density, higher power, faster charge, longer life, improved safety and 40% lower carbon emissions than conventional battery manufacturing.

In 2023, Xerion announced it had been awarded the United States Department of Energy’s (DOE) inaugural American-Made Geothermal Lithium Extraction Prize, in partnership with a team from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The $1 million award will accelerate Xerion’s plans to commercialize its innovative, first-of-its-kind ceramic redox membrane technology, which significantly lowers the cost and reduces the energy required to extract lithium from geothermal brine by as much as 90% compared to current technologies.

About Xerion Advanced Battery Corp.

Founded in 2010, Xerion Advanced Battery Corp. is a privately held manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries with a vision to revolutionize the energy industry through the development of disruptive technologies. Xerion leverages a patented technology platform to enable step-change performance improvements compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries across a range of attributes while mitigating carbon emissions. Xerion’s core technologies produce fundamental improvements across the full spectrum of the battery supply chain, from mining through to the end user.

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