EnPower and Echion partner to serve North American industrial robotics with domestically manufactured ultra-high-power battery cells
As Washington moves to secure the robotics supply chain, the two companies will bring ultra-high-power cells — manufactured in the U.S. by EnPower — to industrial robots, critical infrastructure, and other autonomous systems
INDIANAPOLIS and SAWSTON, United Kingdom, Aug. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- EnPower, Inc., a U.S. manufacturer of high-power lithium-ion battery cells, and Echion Technologies Ltd, the developer of XNO® niobium-based anode technology, today announced a partnership to develop and manufacture in the United States, advanced battery cells for the North American industrial robotics market. Under the collaboration, formalized in a recently signed memorandum of understanding, the two companies will combine Echion's XNO® active material with EnPower's cell design and manufacturing capabilities to deliver cells purpose-built for automated guided vehicles (AGVs), industrial robots like humanoid systems, and other critical infrastructure such as AI datacenter power. The agreement establishes EnPower as a North American XNO® cell-manufacturing partner for these markets, and the companies intend to deepen the relationship as their joint programs advance.
The partnership comes as the United States moves decisively to secure the supply chains behind next-generation robotics. In late July 2026, the Federal Communications Commission added foreign-made humanoid, quadruped, and other mobile robots, along with connected power inverters, to its Covered List of equipment deemed to pose an unacceptable national-security risk, a step widely described as targeting China. The action echoes earlier federal measures against Chinese-made drones and restrictions on Chinese-manufactured batteries under the National Defense Authorization Act, and points to a clear trajectory: the critical technologies of the coming decade will run on bifurcated, trusted supply chains.
As industrial robotics scales across North America, manufacturers will need secure, non-Chinese sources for their most critical hardware and the battery is a common denominator across all. EnPower is among the only end-to-end "powder-to-product" North American cell manufacturers right-sized to serve robotics, mission critical systems, and critical-infrastructure customers, positioning the company to become a trusted battery partner for a nascent robotics industry competing with China.
Industrial robots live and die by uptime. Every minute that fleets of AGVs, autonomous mobile robots, and emerging humanoid and quadruped platforms spend on charging is productive time lost, and every cycle loss due to capacity fade under aggressive workloads is an accelerated capital expenditure burden. Echion's XNO® anode technology is engineered for exactly these conditions, leveraging a unique material chemistry and structure to enable cells that charge in minutes, repeatedly deliver symmetric high-rate charge and discharge over tens of thousands of cycles, operate across a wide temperature range, and maintain high intrinsic safety. Unique to this chemistry is that it completely avoids the unwanted lithium plating behavior that limits fast-charging in conventional cells.
EnPower will bring that material advantage into production at its Indianapolis facility. Furthermore, EnPower intends to pair Echion's material with its own integrated ceramic separator technology for enhanced heat dissipation, thermal stability, and cell-level safety, increasingly important metrics as robots operate at higher power in close proximity to people. The combination of technologies result in a highly differentiated made-in-America cell portfolio.
"EnPower is building up battery manufacturing to unleash American autonomy," said Adrian Yao, Founder and CEO of EnPower. "The same forces that redrew the drone supply chain are now reshaping robotics, and we are right-sized to manufacture high-performance batteries purpose-built to serve these emerging critical technologies. Echion's anode material enables exactly the kind of differentiated capabilities you just can't get from commodity cells."
"XNO® was built to power the industrial machines that cannot afford downtime, and the United States is moving quickly to build those machines at home," said Jean de la Verpillière, Co-founder and CEO of Echion. "We are pleased to partner with EnPower to produce XNO®-enabled cells in North America. We have been impressed by the depth of their engineering capabilities and recognize domestic production as a decisive advantage for the U.S. market."
While the partnership's initial focus is industrial robotics, the companies intend to extend their collaboration across markets that share the same demands for ultra-high power, uptime, and total cost of ownership. This includes batteries to power heavy industrial vehicles, industrial hybrids, and the high-power storage required for AI datacenter load buffering. Specific programs will be formalized under separate agreements as they mature.
About EnPower
EnPower, Inc. is a U.S.-based designer and manufacturer of high-power and high-energy lithium-ion battery cells for mission-critical applications, including industrial robotics, autonomous systems, defense, critical infrastructure, and uncrewed platforms. Built on chemistry-agnostic electrode-level innovations, EnPower operates a domestic cell design and manufacturing facility in Indianapolis, Indiana, delivering mission-critical power made in the United States of America. Learn more at enpowerinc.com.
About Echion Technologies
Echion Technologies Ltd is the developer of XNO®, a niobium-based anode material that enables lithium-ion batteries to charge rapidly and continuously, deliver high power, operate across a wide temperature range, and achieve exceptional cycle life and safety. Founded on a decade of research at the University of Cambridge and headquartered in Sawston, U.K., Echion produces XNO® at industrial scale to power the electrification of industrial applications, from robotics and logistics to mining, data centers, and energy storage. Learn more at echiontech.com.
SOURCE EnPower, Inc.
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