The Albany Gazette - Battery leaders from Three Continents Meet in New York for FOB Summit 2026 to Close the Manufacturing Gap

NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / April 2, 2026 / The FOB Summit 2026, co-hosted by German solid-state battery developer HPB and US financial media platform NTTS, concluded its second annual gathering on March 11. The invite-only event brought together battery technologists, manufacturers, investors, and policymakers from three continents under the theme "From Summit to Solution" to address the critical gap between next-generation battery science and commercial-scale US production.

The summit comes at a pivotal moment for the global battery industry. The global battery market (lithium-ion) is projected to exceed $400 billion by 2030,¹ yet the US imports over half its lithium (Nevada's the only domestic source) and makes under 10% of global battery cells.² Meanwhile, Europe has invested billions in solid-state R&D. FOB 2026 was designed to bridge these gaps, connecting European and Asian innovation with American manufacturing capacity, capital, and policy infrastructure.

1 https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/automotive-and-assembly/our-insights/battery-2030-resilient-sustainable-and-circular
2 https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-lithium.pdf

"The technology exists. The demand exists. What's been missing is a platform where the inventor, the manufacturer, the financier, and the policymaker sit in the same room and solve the last-mile problems together. That's what FOB delivers." - Dr. Sebastian Heinz, CEO of HPB The day's programme featured nine keynotes spanning four distinct battery chemistries. HPB's Head of Business Development, Liam Phelan, presented the company's unique "drop-in" solid-state manufacturing process, which forms the electrolyte inside the cell, with IP coverage across 96 countries.

Urban Electric Power's Meir Weiner showcased a domestically manufactured, fire-safe rechargeable zinc-manganese dioxide system with over 12 million hours of validated operation, now deployed at critical US facilities including the San Diego Supercomputer Center. ZNL Energy co-founder Jan Børge Sagmo introduced a non-porous PPS separator from Norway that eliminates thermal runaway in lithium-ion cells. On the other hand, China controls roughly 60% of global lithium refining and the United States has virtually no commercial-scale lithium refining capacity, a gap that companies like Stardust Power are working to close. Carlos Urquiaga represented the company and outlined their progress toward one of the largest planned US lithium refineries: a 50,000-metric-ton-per-year facility in Muskogee, Oklahoma, now fully permitted for construction.

"The US battery market requires more than technology-it requires a robust domestic supply chain, robust infrastructure, and consistent quality at scale. FOB brings together precisely the
kind of strategic dialogue needed to make that happen." - Carlos Urquiaga, Senior Advisor, Stardust Power.

FOB also addressed the operational and financial realities of scaling production in the US. QAD's Andreas Bareid spoke on enterprise-level manufacturing setup and supplier onboarding, while Black & Veatch's Prantik Saha presented frameworks for making emerging battery chemistries bankable enough to unlock project financing. These themes converged in the summit's centerpiece panel, "Making It in America - The Manufacturing Equation", where speakers debated incentive structures, permitting timelines, and the transatlantic partnerships required to move from pilot to gigafactory scale.

FOB 2026 also expanded its international scope. Mitsubishi Research Institute's Tamon Kodama delivered a keynote on Japan's rapidly evolving battery energy storage market, while German production equipment specialist Jonas & Redmann and fireside chat guest Boris Klebensberger (KLE Trust) addressed the machinery and process engineering needed to turn lab-scale cells into series production lines.

HPB's licensing model promises manufacturers a fast path to solid-state production, but a license alone doesn't build a factory. That requires production equipment partners with proven scale-up expertise. Jonas & Redmann, HPB's German battery manufacturing equipment partner, addressed exactly this challenge. Business Development Manager Anna Yarysh presented the company's approach to taking battery cell designs from prototype to series production machinery, a capability directly relevant to HPB licensees preparing to set up manufacturing lines in the US and other markets.

"There's a growing number of battery companies with promising cell chemistries but no clear path from prototype to series production. That's the gap Jonas & Redmann fills, enabling a seamless transition from initial process to industrial manufacturing. FOB connected us directly with companies at exactly that inflection point, ready to talk equipment specifications, not just slide decks." - Anna Yarysh, Business Development Manager, Jonas & Redmann

Designed as an intimate, application-only gathering, FOB prioritizes depth of interaction over scale. The two-day format - a networking dinner on March 10 at Blackbarn, followed by the full programme on March 11 near Hudson Yards - included extended networking windows and an evening reception, reinforcing the summit's role as a deal-making and partnership-building platform for the transatlantic battery ecosystem. FOB 2027 details are expected to be announced subsequently.

Companies interested in attending or sponsoring future editions can contact HPB via www.fob-summit.com.

About HPB
HPB (High Performance Battery) is a German company specializing in the research and development of a new generation of batteries with outstanding properties. The HPB Solid-State Battery is characterized by its non-flammability, extreme longevity, and significantly improved environmental properties, and is already ready for series production thanks to an innovative production process. HPB cooperates with renowned European plant manufacturers for industrial production. High Performance Battery Technology GmbH, based in Bonn, Germany, is a wholly owned subsidiary of High Performance Battery Holding AG, based in Teufen, Switzerland, which is responsible for financing the research work.

About New to The Street (NTTS)
NTTS is a premier multi-platform media brand and long-form TV series that features innovative public and private companies from around the globe. Broadcasting weekly as sponsored programming on Fox Business Network and Bloomberg Television, and digitally across a rapidly growing 4.5 million+ subscriber YouTube channel, New to The Street delivers powerful exposure to a national and international investor audience.

Media Contact
Ananya Borgohain | HPB | [email protected]
Monica Brennan | New to The Street | [email protected]

SOURCE: New to The Street

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(O.Robinson--TAG)