Massive battery tonnage is coming. I’m betting on magnesium. Co-founder & CEO at Estes Energy Solutions, Inc.
San Francisco, CA
Joined October 2010
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Every gram is sacred.
Here’s a look at our approach to lightweighting the next generation of high voltage battery systems for all forms of mobility…land, air, & sea.
files.estes.energy/estes_mg_…
We believe magnesium is one of the most important metals of the future. Check out our Magnesium Thesis here:
files.estes.energy/estes_mg_…
Since founding in April 2024, Estes’ engineering team has been working to unlock magnesium through intensive R&D and close collaboration with trusted partners embedded in the global magnesium ecosystem.
Reach out to [email protected] if you'd like to open a conversation with us about lightweighting!
Tonight was surreal @Tesla
When you're kickflipping a car over a Class 8 truck, every gram counts. It goes without saying…there's magnesium in this alien machine. 🦾
The future should look like the future, if only to inspire the next generation of engineers. Thanks for having me @larsmoravy
Was fortunate to see the @regentcraft Viceroy seaglider take flight this week in Narraganset Bay.
Effortless, smooth…most importantly silent (!). Efficiency generally also means quiet in mobility. Exquisite engineering. Battery electric ‘everything’ is going to be awesome.
Congrats @billythalheimer and the Regent team
Dustin Grace retweeted
Tesla Semi battery, by the numbers:
• Module: 14p16s (224 cells)
• Pack: 14 modules (3,136 cells)
• Voltage: 820V nominal / 940V max (224s)
• Truck: 3 packs (9,408 4680 cells)
• Rated usable: 828 kWh (88 Wh per cell)
For reference, 4680s in Cybertruck and Cybercab deliver ~91 Wh usable per EPA filing, derated from a 3rd party tested ~95 Wh nameplate.
The same 9,408 cells at Cybertruck-level usable energy: 856 kWh (91Wh/cell)
At full nameplate: 894 kWh (95Wh/cell)
A guess: Tesla is deliberately holding back ~28 (3%) to 66 kWh (7.5%) of nameplate cell energy to prolong cell life in this heavy commercial-use environment. This assumes the 4680 in the Semi/Cybercab/Cybertruck are all the same, which has not been confirmed publicly.
One thing is clear: even as a new entrant into cell production, @Tesla has high conviction in their cell durability under heavy cycling. Both the Semi and Cybercab are workhorse products that will deliver outstanding TCO economics over the life of the vehicle. NCMA cell chemistry is a calculated, thoughtful play in these products. Full physics-based modeling (from cathode to where the rubber meets the road) beat the simple spreadsheet math that drove the rest of the industry to pursue heavier chemistries like LFP.
Now we just need @Tesla to confirm the mass of the Semi pack to confirm energy density. We guess in the 180-190Wh/kg range. All in all, the truck and the battery are, together, an engineering masterpiece that will continue to improve from this point 👏.
@tesla_semi @larsmoravy @danWpriestley @wmorrill3 @elonmusk
Congratulations to the @Tesla_Semi team on engineering and, even harder, bringing to production an amazing machine!
Yes…energy density matters if you want to compete in any arena of electrification.
The strongest signal yet that this transition is inevitable, and when it arrives, it will not be gradual or reversible.
Go @Tesla @larsmoravy @danWpriestley @wmorrill3
Tesla was selected as the primary OEM for the largest electric Class 8 order in the US by ZET SCALE, a new shippers’ alliance
With 2,500 Semis on order, this will double the entire US electric Class 8 fleet
We’re serious about scale, and ZET SCALE is too!
calstart.org/catalyst-mobili…
'Claude, you are an expert battery engineer. Make the most energy dense and ruggedized battery system in the world. Make no mistakes.'
Massive respect for @RegentCraft and @billythalheimer. Building a new aircraft is hard. Building a new boat is hard. Regent decided to just do both. Impressive to say the least.
Can’t wait to see Viceroy take flight! Will be an eye (and ear) opening moment for the world to see a new form of quiet, high speed, long distance transport.
Announcing @regentcraft's $240M Series B to bring our Seaglider manufacturing facility online and deliver them to our military and commercial customers. Lets go!!
Could not have asked for better co-leads between Mare Liberum (@lcselby) and AE Ventures, bringing vast experience and connectivity across maritime and aerospace. Its not easy building in either of these sectors, so their backing is amazing validation for the business.
So excited to be partnering with @ereborbank on the financing. @PalmerLuckey and the team are absolutely putting their money where their mouth is on backing the next generation of American industry and defense technologies.
Access to this $120M in debt unlocks significant manufacturing purchases across tooling and equipment to stay on track for first Seagliders out of the factory by end of next year. We have a quarter-million feet of factory floor to fill.
This is a major growth moment for REGENT. To date, we've largely been focused on prototyping. Seagliders are the first new mode of transportation since the helicopter, and its taken a lot of engineering and test to get here.
Now we are focused to getting Seagliders into the hands of our customers, whether it is contested logistics and MEDEVAC missions in the Indo-Pacific, or commuter service to New York or Miami. The growth of the order book over the past year has been amazing.
It's a huge moment for us, but we're keeping our heads down and working. We are on the eve of flying our full-scale, human-safe Viceroy Seaglider prototype. Investors in our Series B got deeply involved in our technology development and testing campaigns and gained conviction in REGENT to unlock this fundraise even before Viceroy has flown.
I must say, it's awesome to see this team - even while celebrating this Series B - remain so locked in on flight.
Thank you to our existing investors who doubled down on us like @_edgegroup / SDF, @GiantStepVC, @LockheedMartin, @caffeinatedcap/@tonsing, @JAL_Official_jp, @mcuban, @foundersfund/@zebulgar, East X, and @Future_Planet.
And excited for all the new support with @DCVC, iGrow, @BalnordVC, @VanderbiltU, and Inceptional.
Massive day for REGENT. Next steps: flight, production, deliveries!
Darth Magnus emerging from an hours long cold plunge 🔊
800 VDC ⚡️ 69 kWh 🔋307 kg 🪶 – at San Francisco, CA
Thank you @LucaGreco for digging into our tech. You nailed both the vision and the substance.
Our magnesium thesis is now public. For the Mg community...and anyone who cares about lightweighting, here it is:
files.estes.energy/estes_mg_…
PS: under stealth, "Magnus" stood for "Mag in US." Let's go.
Estes Energy Solutions emerged from stealth and plans to bring large-scale magnesium thixomolding to the US 🇺🇸
Thixomolding long stayed under ~5 kg. Chinese programs are already trying to scale bigger.
@estesenergy targets a US giga-thixo machine at roughly 30 kg per shot, one part per minute, for the first half of 2027.
The idea is to build a monocast thermo-structural magnesium battery module that is structure, heat path and high-voltage enclosure.
Coolant channels cast into the structural skin. Proprietary alloy and coating tackle flammability and corrosion. They are securing US/allied feedstock and domestic manufacturing for supply security.
Founded 2024 by Tesla/Sila/Cummins engineers. $11M seed co-led by BMW i Ventures and Fortescue. Target: mass-constrained high duty cycle applications — rail, marine, aviation, Class 8.
Non-cell mass is the new ceiling for battery packs.
A lighter structural metal formed as one load-bearing shell is the direct response proposed by Estes which aims to scale the process in America to deliver it.
📰Full article: industryarsenal.com/p/estes-…
❌ Don't leave your insights to chance with the X algorithm
✅ Subscribe for free to my weekly newsletter about all things Gigacasting and magnesium Thixomolding: industryarsenal.com 📬
Same story at @estesenergy.
What started as an in-house LabOS to manage our coating experiments has grown into a full EstesOS spanning our magnesium lab, cell lab, battery test lab, manufacturing line, and project management. Soon, we manage our raw materials supply chain and financial accounting system through this centralized OS.
When we founded Estes in April 2024, I drastically underestimated this benefit. We run lean with minimal IT overhead. Estes is almost entirely mechanical and electrical engineers…supported by Claude, Chat, and some open source tools. What an era to build a company with no legacy costs 🤯
SaaS-pocalypse is real. Time to build.
I cancelled and then vibecoded 100% of my SaaS subscriptions
I only pay for domains, server hosting and storage and AI APIs
So the irony of being replaced myself after I replaced everything I pay for is not lost on me
I am happy I invested most of the money I made in the last 10+ years though so I have no worries financially
But obviously preferrably I keep make more money with my projects but for that we will have to adapt or make entirely new type of projects
Times of change are fun for me though, if there's no challenges life gets boring fast!
At Estes, we are a team of builders obsessed with the challenge of battery optimization. The battery system is no longer simply an energy store. It is the central architectural and financial element of the electrified machine.
Today, we're publishing Estes' thesis on how our novel magnesium alloys and manufacturing processes will alter the landscape of battery performance and cost. And we are announcing Levius™, our end-to-end alloying, forming, and coating platform, which transforms magnesium from ingot to finished thermo-structural, high-voltage battery system with over 80% gravimetric conversion efficiency.
Estes' first product born of this manufacturing platform is Magnus™. 30% smaller and lighter than cell-equivalent battery systems. 75% fewer unique components. These benefits don’t come from some new exotic cell breakthroughs. They come from innovative materials, processes and architectures focused on everything around the cell, achieving new levels of energy density, manufacturability, safety, and cost that will unleash the age of mass electrification.
Contracts are signed. Shipments have begun. Later this year, we're delivering systems to rail, marine, and on-highway customers. Magnus™ is ready to usher in a new era of Class 8 electrification: 1000V systems at mass parity with their diesel-powered counterparts.
Proud doesn't begin to describe how I feel about the team that tackles challenges large and small every day. And grateful doesn't do justice to how I feel about our investors and global partners who have empowered us to focus on solutions. The future of electrification isn't going to look like the past, and as builders, we are only looking forward.
@estesenergy #electrification #magnesium #DeepTech #Manufacturing #Lightweighting
finance.yahoo.com/energy/art…
Big congrats to @schrep and @gigascale with $250M to back the founders who are rebuilding the physical economy. 'Hardware is hard' is an understatement. @estesenergy is fortunate to have partners like Gigascale who embrace this and push through.
“Scaling up manufacturing capacity, especially in batteries and electric drivetrains, is the vital next step as companies establish the supply chain necessary for higher sales in the years ahead.
Such expansion of the technology portfolio requires high investment and can also be challenging.”
@colinmckerrache 👏🏻
Battery-electric & fuel-cell truck sales are gaining traction, with China leading. BloombergNEF’s new report highlights falling battery costs & innovative models scaling the market. ⚡
👉 Read more: bloom.bg/3ZxLsND
#EVs #CleanEnergy #ElectricTrucks
Removing inverter costs, and sizing systems between 50-4000MWh (their best pricing tier), Tesla’s 2024 advertised market rate for LFP stationary battery (powered by CATL cells) is $210-214/kWh.
Made-in-China but Assembled-in-USA battery systems — such as this Megapack — are still selling for over $200/kWh. Bankable and at scale, despite what the world is being told about falling battery prices.
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