Dive Brief:
- Drone battery maker Amprius Technologies and battery manufacturer Nanotech Energy have entered into an agreement to scale domestic silicon-anode battery production, according to a Feb. 3 press release.
- Nanotech Energy is Amprius’ first manufacturing partner in the United States. Having this U.S. presence is “essential to meeting the evolving requirements of our defense customers,” said Amprius CEO Tom Stepien in a statement.
- The contract would increase Amprius’ global capacity beyond 2 gigawatt-hours as it addresses demand for battery cells in the commercial, industrial and defense sectors.
Dive Insight:
Amprius and Nanotech had been collaborating over the past few months, honing the design and manufacturing of Amprius’ SA128 silicon-anode cell. Specifications include 6.8 amp-hours and 320 watt-hours per kilogram.
Amprius is headquartered and has a pilot facility in Fremont, California. Up until now, the company has relied on contract manufacturers outside the United States, according to a November 2025 securities filing.
The Nanotech partnership would allow Amprius to better serve customers in defense, aerospace and other critical markets by providing manufacturing that complies with updated requirements under the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2026.
Under the NDAA, the U.S. Department of Defense would be prohibited from purchasing batteries for weapons and support systems made with materials from foreign entities of concern, such as China or Russia, beginning Jan. 1, 2028.
Amprius said in a blog post last week that it has a “substantial interest” in the law’s requirements, as it serves defense customers such as AeroVironment, L3Harris Technologies and Teledyne Flir. Moreover, the Nanotech agreement could put them ahead of schedule with the NDAA’s demands.
Former CEO Kang Sun said in a November 2025 earnings call that the recent regulations and policy changes give the impression of “market accelerants.” For example, President Donald Trump signed an executive order in June 2025 to expedite domestic drone production, strengthen the supply chain and reduce the United States reliance on foreign countries.
“We’ve already experienced strong traction from the defense market and expect growing interest from these customers in the year ahead,” Sun said.
Tom Stepien, who served as the company president until he succeeded Sun on Jan. 1, said on the November earnings call that Amprius will pursue contract manufacturers that are “NDAA compliant.” The drone battery maker subsequently added three contract manufacturers to its Korea battery alliance, giving it access to the country’s battery production ecosystem and supporting its expansion into allied nations, according to a December 2025 press release
Additionally, DOD entity Defense Innovation Unit awarded Amprius a $10.5 million contract to increase capacity for the Fremont pilot line to 10 megawatt-hours and expand capabilities to bolster capabilities to quickly turnaround silicon-anode battery customer prototypes, Stepien said. In August 2025, the DIU awarded Amprius an additional $1.5 million, according to the securities filing.
The company is working closely with the DIU to make all 11 of its battery components NDAA-compliant, Stepien said.
“The DIU’s interest is domestic batteries and they see us as in the front of the pack, and they want to encourage us to make those available,” Stepien said.
The Nanotech agreement comes a few days after Amprius paid $20 million to terminate its lease on an existing facility in Brighton, Colorado, on Jan. 31, per a securities filing. The company initially announced in March 2023 that it was investing $190 million to convert a 774,155-square-foot facility there into a large-scale lithium-ion battery factory to support the U.S. electric mobility market.
Amprius was also selected in October to receive a $50 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act in 2022, which would have gone toward the Colorado facility.
However, in June 2025, the company nixed the project, per The Colorado Sun. Amprius did not disclose its reasons for canceling the factory, but CFO Ricardo Rodriguez said during the November earnings call that the company was monitoring “industry dynamics.”
“Changes in demand, supply, battery cost structure, government incentives, trade tariffs and other considerations, including the timing and availability of funding, will influence our decision on next steps and near-term timing,” Rodriguez said.
Correction: This article has been updated to correct the first name of Amprius CEO Tom Stepien.
