3D printing specialist for battery production Sakuu goes public

Sakuu, a solid-state battery additive manufacturing company, has agreed to merge with Plum Acquisition Corp. I agreed to a merger. This merger with the Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) ensures that Sakuu becomes a publicly traded company.

Upon the closing of the proposed transaction, the combined company (the “Company”) will be renamed Sakuu Holdings Inc. and is expected to be listed on a US national exchange under the ticker symbol “SAKU.” The transaction implies an enterprise value of approximately USD $705 million.

Founded in 2016, Sakuu is commercializing next-generation lithium (Li) metal batteries and Li-metal all-solid-state batteries to be mass-produced via proprietary multi-material, multi-process additive manufacturing technologies. In pioneering SwiftPrint solid-state batteries from its Kavian™ additive manufacturing platform, Sakuu solves fundamental challenges that are known to impede commercial-scale production of solid-state batteries. Further benefits from SwiftPrint batteries include custom form factors and sizes, energy density gains, recyclability, and anticipated process, material, and energy efficiencies when compared to traditional battery manufacturing methods. Sakuu intends to license its battery chemistries and sell its Kavian platforms to companies seeking to deploy cleaner, better, and more cost-effective energy at scale. Samples of Sakuu’s safe, non-flammable high energy density Li-metal anode battery have undergone evaluation and testing by customers in multiple markets since the third quarter of 2021.

With the Kavian platform, and across its battery product lines, Sakuu intends to first serve the next-generation solid-state battery needs for broad industries, such as e-mobility, grid energy storage, aerospace, industrial, consumer electronics and electric vehicles (EVs).

Sakuu Founder and Chief Executive Officer Robert Bagheri stated, “The arrival of transformative additive manufacturing will have profound implications across global legacy manufacturing. Our high-volume Kavian solution for printing batteries can potentially leap-frog decades of manufacturing stagnation. We believe Kavian is the only known solution for producing heavily in-demand products, such as solid-state batteries, that can be custom-printed rapidly and cost-effectively—taking next-generation battery manufacturing to realms never imagined. Since 2016, our talented team, with deep and diverse industry expertise, has worked diligently to develop Kavian, along with our next-generation battery products. We are not a concept company—we have successfully and consistently printed high-performance batteries since December 2022 and, with this progress, we have entered the first stages of commercialization. With this proposed merger, the strong support of the exceptional leadership team at Plum, and our dedicated investors, we feel Sakuu is well-positioned to create a paradigm shift in complex manufacturing, starting first with batteries.”

Plum Chairwoman Ursula Burns stated, “I’ve always been fascinated by fundamental step changes in approach that unlock significant value in otherwise incrementally evolving industries. Sakuu represents an opportunity for such a fundamental step change in manufacturing through its high-volume, multi-material, additive manufacturing Kavian platform – something that has impressed even a printing industry veteran like me. Solid-state batteries, and the massive addressable market associated with it, could just be Act 1 for the Company. We believe its technology has already allowed it to leapfrog many more highly capitalized battery suppliers. Plum is honored and excited to partner with Sakuu for its long-term journey in the public markets.”

Find out more about Sakuu at sakuu.com.