Johnson's $15 Million Wager on Batteries: Electric Vehicles With Double the Range
Ready to dive into the mind-blowing world of Lonnie Johnson, a one-of-a-kind inventor who doesn't give a rat's behind about impossibilities? This unyielding visionary has been quietly working on revolutionizing energy storage for the past three decades. You've probably heard of his Super Soaker invention, but that's peanuts compared to this game-changer: The all-solid-state battery!
Lonnie, who's been inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame, knew he had a killer idea - a battery that's safer, more powerful, and damn cheaper than the current theories. Using royalties from the Super Soaker, he has been pouring his blood, sweat, and tears into this mission. The results? Prototypes are in the final stages of independent testing, and his company, Johnson Energy Storage, is getting ready to roll-out a pilot manufacturing line in Atlanta that churns out full-sized cells.
Here's the deal: This is a straight-up David versus Goliath story of an independent inventor who refused to give up. I've spent my career championing these fearless dreamers, and Lonnie's tale sets the bar sky-high. His latest achievement is more than just a breakthrough - it's a goddamn testament to what happens when brilliance meets unbreakable resolve.
From Mobile's Streets to Remote-controlled Robots: Born a Visionary
Lonnie has always been a movers-and-shakers, a force of nature. During the days of segregation in Mobile, Alabama, he built an award-winning remote-controlled robot that used a mechanical computer and a reel-to-reel tape recorder for memory in 1968. After winning scholarships to Tuskegee University, a historically Black university known for the Tuskegee Airmen, he earned degrees in mechanical and nuclear engineering. While studying space launches using nuclear power in the Air Force, he spotted a problem that NASA had missed, and they promptly invited him on board for their Galileo Mission, investigating Jupiter and its moons with unmanned spacecraft.
Now, with over 150 U.S. patents under his belt, Lonnie has dedicated himself to his true passion: energy technology.
"I've always been conscious of the impact our use of fossil fuels has on the environment," he said. And that vision fueled him to launch Johnson Energy Storage (JES) and take on the daunting challenge: A solid-state battery that's safer, more powerful, and damn cheaper than the current ones.
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Overcoming the Odds: Lonnie Johnson's Quest for the Spotlight
In the late '90s, while everyone else was babbling on about lithium-ion batteries, Lonnie saw solid-state as the future. He knew the clunky, costly methods of the time wouldn't scale, so he set out to craft a glass electrolyte separator that could be melted, flowed into a cathode, and solidified into an all-ceramic, metal masterpiece.
"Been down a lot of empty rabbit holes," he admitted. "It's been a tough science project." No worries, he's self-funded the whole damn thing, with strategic seed investors and government grants.
"The biggest challenge has been resources-keeping the team together," he said. "Ups and downs in making payroll... those times you're trying to hold things together."
Selling Progress: A Solid-State Breakthrough Worth Betting On
Unlike other so-called solid-state contenders, Lonnie's glass electrolyte outperforms the competition. With higher conductivity, suppression of dangerous shorts, and thriving across a wide temperature range, it slashes production costs. Plus, it's made entirely of ceramic, glass, and metal materials, making it non-flammable, difficult to burst open, and free of the cooling systems lithium-ion requires.
Picture this: Electric vehicles driving twice as far without needing to recharge, renewable energy grids storing power more efficiently, and gadgets that won't overheat. That's the enormous potential we're talking about here! Preliminary results from the batteries undergoing independent testing by UL have fueled Lonnie and his team at JES with renewed hope that they're well on their way to creating the first all-solid-state battery.
"We can't wait to release this so people can compare and realize the real benefits," Lonnie said. "It's not only superior technology-it's cheaper to manufacture." That's the kind of innovation that tips the industry on its head.
Facing Skepticism and Paving the Way: A Light in the Dark for Independent Inventors
While other battery firms have scored big funding, Lonnie has been bootstrapping it. He's probably met resistance due to skepticism towards independent inventors or maybe they still see him as the "water gun guy" and overlook his sheer genius. Or, it could've been tougher for an inventor who happens to be Black to receive backing, even with a resume that includes serving in the Air Force, creating power supply devices for interplanetary spacecraft for NASA, and being a prolific inventor. Lonnie doesn't dwell on the past, though. He's focused on the future.
Recently, JES has tapped Marine Corps veteran Brandon Martin as its CEO. Martin's strategy has been pursuing early-stage Black community capital, while still seeking institutional investors and strategic partners. Things are looking up: Since then, the team at JES has doubled, and funding has taken off.
"We're building a coalition of investors who believe in an iconic inventor whose inventions continue to function deeply in outer space decades later and who's now working on technology that will push American innovation for generations to come," Martin said.
With an initial $500,000 from Invest Georgia, JES raised over $15 million - blowing past its $5 million goal – thanks to backers including Myles Garrett, Magic Johnson, and Southern Company. With another $1 million investment from Innovate Alabama, things are looking bright.
From Lab to Legacy: Johnson Energy Storage in Action
JES won't stop at test cells. A prototype manufacturing line is already in the works, and a new 70,000-square-foot headquarters with expanded labs will break ground in Atlanta later this year.
Partnerships are key, like the one with Tuskegee University, where Lonnie's Alabama roots run deep. The new Dr. Lonnie Johnson Technology Research & Incubation Center will continue bridging the gap between academia and industry, training students, sparking jobs, and–you guessed it–boosting the economies in Alabama, Georgia, and the Southeast overall. The collaboration is an extension of a long-standing relationship between JES and Tuskegee, serving as the foundation for JES's research and professional pipeline.
"We're ready to take this out of the lab," Lonnie said. "These batteries are being handmade by PhD-level scientists. It's time to scale." With dozens of U.S. patents related to energy, a track record of licensing success, and a growing team, he's ready to capitalize on the momentum.
Standing with the Underdogs: A Call to Action for All Visionaries
Inventors like Lonnie are the unsung heroes of progress. Let's support these bold thinkers who battle without cushions and deliver world-changing breakthroughs. "If I create the next generation of battery tech and secure the IP," Lonnie said, "I'll be there with the solutions when the industry realizes this is the next big step." That's the inventor's playbook: Patience, persistence, and a bold plan.
But they can't do it alone. His story serves as a stark reminder: The game-changing ideas often sprout from the underdogs. Let's join forces to cheer on these pioneers. The future of clean energy? All solid-state batteries, baby!
- In the world of Lonnie Johnson, an independent inventor who is not deterred by impossibilities, a significant breakthrough or godsend is in sight – an all-solid-state battery, offering a safer, more powerful, and cheaper alternative to the current options in the energy sector.
- Johnson Energy Storage, led by Lonnie Johnson, is making groundbreaking advancements in the energy technology sector, with prototypes in the final stages of independent testing and a pilot manufacturing line in Atlanta on the horizon, aimed at churning out full-sized cells.
- The solid-state battery developed by Lonnie Johnson's Johnson Energy Storage is not just a game-changer but a testament to the power of persistence, brilliance, and unbreakable resolve, offering potential for twice the driving range for electric vehicles, increased storage efficiency for renewable energy grids, and durable gadgets free of cooling systems required by lithium-ion batteries.
