UK-based Echion is the world’s leading supplier of niobium anodes for lithium ion batteries. Echion’s XNO® anode active material for lithium-ion batteries targets industrial vehicle OEMs and tier-1s looking to further the electrification of their product lines with a battery technology which provides maximum operational productivity and the lowest total cost of ownership.
The company’s proprietary material, XNO®, offers several advantages over conventional graphite anodes - most notably ultra-fast charging, as well as enhanced safety and longevity. These features are particularly important for the operation of heavy-duty industrial vehicles in sectors such as mining and construction and in energy storage, but also ‘high duty cycle’ applications in general.
With many battery cell manufacturers and industrial machinery OEMs based in Asia, it was only natural for Echion to seek opportunities in the region. But, despite the technology’s potential, entering the Asian market was a daunting prospect. “Asia is where the industry is centred,” said Ben Ting, Echion’s Chief Commercial Officer. “But the cultural, linguistic, and logistical barriers made it difficult to navigate alone.”
This led to Echion appointing us as their on-the-ground business development team in China, Japan and Korea.
Mapping the ecosystem
Two key challenges faced Echion in this venture. First, it was unknown in Asia. Second, its niobium-based technology, though potentially disruptive, diverges significantly from the industry norm, which still largely relies on graphite.
We began by mapping the OEM and battery ecosystem in China, Korea and Japan, focusing on industrial vehicles, battery makers, component suppliers and EV system integrators.
Commercial success starts with small steps – evaluations and MTAs (material transfer agreements) with customers are key. And, to scale rapidly, local or regional supply chain partners need to be secured early on as well. In fact, in Asia, some customer deals can’t move forward without local suppliers involved, which the OEM already knows and trusts.
So, in short order, we initiated conversations with the relevant teams at more than 100 key industrial and battery players and facilitated over 200 meetings across the three markets with potential partners and customers for Echion.
Driving sales cycles
The response was encouraging. In Korea, seven of the top 12 battery makers requested material samples for testing. In China, 14 of the top 40 players expressed similar interest. Japan, where battery research is largely focused on solid-state technologies and where Toshiba already has a niobium-based product, proved a tougher market, though some exploratory conversations were initiated, including with other battery innovators whose technology complements the characteristics of XNO®.
Further feedback indicated that, although many industrial vehicle solutions were focused on using LFP, LTO and hydrogen, none of these technologies can realistically achieve widespread electrification – unlike XNO.
Echion’s initial goal was to secure Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs) - a crucial first step that allows potential customers to test new materials. In this, it has certainly succeeded. So far, more than 20 MTAs have been signed.
On top of this, a demonstrator vehicle using Echion’s cells in a battery pack built by Li-FUN, a Chinese manufacturer, is operating in Australia. The company is also exploring joint development opportunities and other partnerships.
We also saw interest in several other niche market segments across Asia – including low-temperature applications, uninterrupted power systems, vehicle starter systems and power tools. Lots more opportunities to explore.
Electrifying the supply chain
Our pan-Asian team also engaged cell, separator and electrolyte manufacturers, niobium suppliers, battery research institutes and universities – key regional partners to boost the product supply capability, raise awareness and add local market credibility.
These new relationships were bound to be invaluable to Echion’s future product development and its ability to grow its manufacturing capacity – not only to provide large volumes of its products to its soon-to-be Asian end customers, but to its global customer base as well.
Raising awareness
In Asia, a hyper-targeted one-to-one business development approach tends to work best when coupled with B2B marketing support.
We exhibited on Echion’s behalf at one of Korea’s largest innovation-focused trade shows, NextRise. Over two days, we welcomed 800+ visitors and arranged a dozen high-value meetings. Echion also had a booth and gave a successful talk during InterBattery Seoul, one of Asia’s leading battery shows.
Capitalising on the in-person events, we helped to get an article about Echion published in the Korea Economic Daily – one of the country’s top business and tech news publications.
In addition, we supported Echion’s team at the China International Battery Fair (CIBF), generating more than 150 industry contacts and sparking several high-priority discussions. And – to drive these discussions – we created Echion’s official WeChat page, which is a crucial business communications tool in China.
Refining Echion’s strategy
Through all these efforts, and thanks to first-hand feedback from Asian customers and partners, Echion achieved a strong position from which to refine its Asia strategy and capitalise on revenue-generating opportunities.
Some openings our Asia teams uncovered were even outside the initial project scope. For instance, we garnered interest from strategic partners willing to invest in Echion’s next funding round.
Ben Ting, Echion's Chief Commercial Officer, spoke of his market entry experience through Intralink: “We’re operating in a complex and sensitive sector and at multiple levels in the battery supply chain. This means our move into Asia has inevitably had challenges. Nonetheless, in 2022, we were unknown in the region, whereas today, we’re participating in a diverse range of pilot projects and seeing real commercial traction, particularly in China and Korea.
“Making more progress in Japan remains an ambition but, right now, there’s so much potential in China and Korea that our priority is to deepen our relationships there and turn the pilot projects into long-term supply agreements.”
With first revenues from Asia coming in through paid evaluations and MTAs, further commercial opportunities and joint R&D projects were set to crystalise soon after. Echion is well on its way to become one of the most promising western battery tech innovators operating in Asia.