Biden’s ‘poster child’ for US-made electric car batteries gets a new CEO
Michigan-based EV battery startup ONE, Our Next Energy, has been touted as “a poster child” of President Biden’s agenda to wean the US off its dependence on China by building batteries in the US, and bringing a flood of new clean tech jobs with it. But after a wave of layoffs and a loss of funding, the company has announced a new CEO. It is replacing its CEO and founder Mujeeb Ijaz, known for his dazzling genius in the field of battery engineering, with a seasoned executive and board member.
ONE, headquartered in Novi, a suburb of Detroit, is one of many such companies in the US working on manufacturing LFP battery cells and developing a domestic battery supply chain to benefit from Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. Founded by Mujeeb Ijaz three years ago, ONE is also one of the most valuable privately held companies in the US. But it has been hit by the industry slowdown and a loss of funding, which triggered its decision to cut its workforce by 25%. Ijaz has also decided to step down and be replaced by board member Paul Humphries, who brings more than 40 years of experience and is coming out of retirement from Flex Ltd. The switch is effective immediately.
Ijaz, a battery engineer who worked on Apple’s top-secret electric car project, will now serve as CTO, leading product engineering, and vice-chairman of the board. He worked prior at a company funded by the Obama administration called A123 Systems, which went bankrupt and its technology acquired by China’s Wanxiang Group back in 2013. “With that sale, America’s chance to lead in battery technology was fumbled away to China,” reports Automotive News.
ONE is now delivering prototype versions of lithium iron phosphate battery packs to several companies for testing, with the aim of producing battery cells next year at a new $1.6 billion factory in Van Buren Township, Michigan. The world’s biggest LFP battery producers are China’s Contemporary Amperex Technologies and BYD Co.
Last month, the company announced that it has cut 128 salaried and hourly workers from its staff of roughly 500 people as part of a revised business plan, it said. While at the time, the company kept the reasoning vague in saying it was “in response to market conditions,” it now seems linked to the fact that London’s Just Climate, an investment fund, decided against leading ONE’s Series C funding round with its $100 million investment, reports Automotive News.
Part of the plan now is to pull back spending based on what the company says is “lower EV demands,” and to delay its new battery plant in Van Buren until it can lock in new customers. Putting Humphries, a seasoned executive with 40 years of manufacturing and operations experience, at the helm is a crucial part of that plan. Apparently, Ijaz, while praised for his engineering prowess, lacked experience in leading the company and overspent and overhired, according to unnamed sources who spoke to Automotive News. “I realized that actually I have a lot to learn about running a billion-dollar company,” Ijaz told the journal in an interview. “We don’t want to lose this opportunity.”
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Environment
Baidu- and Geely-backed JiYue brand unveils ROBO X EV that goes 0-100 km/h in under 1.9 sec
JiYue, a Chinese EV brand focused on delivering all-electric “robocars” to the masses, has unveiled its latest model, and it’s quite a deviation from its previous EVs—but in the best way. Earlier today, JiYue launched the ROBO X supercar, designed for high-speed racing. By high speed, we mean 0-100 km/h acceleration in under 1.9 seconds. My mouth is watering.
JiYue has only existed since 2021, when parent tech company Baidu announced it was expanding from software development into physical EV production, joining forces with multinational automotive manufacturer Geely.
The new “robotic EV” marque initially launched as JIDU with $300 million in startup capital before garnering an additional $400 million in Series A funding, led by Baidu, in January 2022.
In August 2023, Geely took on a larger role in JIDU alongside a greater financial stake as the brand reimagined itself as JiYue, inheriting the JIDU logo and its flagship model, the 01 ROBOCAR.
In December 2023, Baidu and Geely unveiled a second model called the JiYue 07. It was born from JIDU’s ROBO-02 concept, which debuted in 2023 and was designed to compete against the Tesla Model 3 in China.
The 07 finally launched in China earlier this year with 545 miles of range. With an all-electric SUV and sedan on the market, JiYue has unveiled an exciting new entry in the form of a performance supercar called the ROBO X. Check it out:
JiYue’s new ROBO X EV is available for pre-order now
JiYue showcased its new ROBO X hypercar in front of the crowd at the 2024 Guangzhou Auto Show earlier today. Similar to previous models but with a unique spin, JiYue described the ROBO X as an AI smart-driving supercar that, for the first time, blends artificial intelligence and autonomous driving into a high-performance, race-ready EV.
When we say “high performance,” we mean a quad motor liquid-cooled drive system that can propel the ROBO X from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) in under 1.9 seconds. JiYue called the new ROBO X a “performance beast” with “the perfect balance of excellent aerodynamic performance and high downforce.” JiYue CEO Joe Xia was even bolder in his statements about the ROBO X:
For the next 20 years, the design of supercars will bear the shadow of Robo X. This is the best design in the history of Chinese automobiles today, and it is a landmark presence.
Fighter-style airflow ducts bolster the EV’s aerodynamics, efficiency, and overall posture. Per JiYue, the two-seater ROBO X is expected to deliver a maximum range of over 650 km (404 miles).
The new supercar features falcon-wing doors, a carbon fiber integrated frame, and a professional racing HALO safety system offering 360° of support. The interior features an AI smart cockpit with SIMO real-time feedback to give drivers an immersive racing experience.
Furthermore, JiYue said the vehicle will utilize parent company Baidu’s Apollo self-driving technology, which could make it the first electric supercar to apply pure-vision ADAS technology that enables track-level autonomous driving.
Following today’s unveiling of the ROBO X, JiYue has officially opened up pre-orders in China for RMB 49,999 ($6,915). That said, reservation holders will need to be patient as JiYue shared that it doesn’t expect to begin mass production of the ROBO X until 2027.
What do you think? Will people be talking about the ROBO X for the next 20 years?
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This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes the launch of the Lectric XPedition 2.0, Yamaha e-bikes pulling out of North America, LiveWire unveils an electric scooter concept, PNY readying its cargo e-scooters for pilot testing, Royal Enfield’s first electric motorcycle, and more.
The Wheel-E podcast returns every two weeks on Electrek’s YouTube channel, Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.
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Crude oil futures were on pace Friday for loss for the week, as a supply gut and a strong dollar depresses the market.
U.S. crude oil is down more than 2% this week, while Brent has shed nearly 2%.
Here are Friday’s energy prices:
- West Texas Intermediate December contract: $68.56 per barrel, down 14 cents, or 0.2%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil has shed about 4%.
- Brent January contract: $72.36 per barrel, down 20 cents, or 0.28%. Year to date, the global benchmark has lost nearly 6%.
- RBOB Gasoline December contract: $1.99 per gallon, up 0.46%. Year to date, gasoline has fallen more than 1%.
- Natural Gas December contract: $2.70 per thousand cubic feet, down 2.98%. Year to date, gas has gained more than 4%.
The International Energy Agency has forecast a surplus of more than 1 million barrels per day in 2025 on robust production in the U.S. OPEC revised down its demand forecast for the fourth consecutive month as demand in China remains soft.
A strong dollar also hangs over the market, as the greenback has surged in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory.
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