I’ve only been following MNS since 2022. However, I have a good pulse on U.S. politics and may offer a unique political perspective on iM3NY’s position in the U.S. market. Below are my thoughts on why I believe MNS will get funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.
iM3NY is located in Endicott, New York, at Binghamton University. Binghamton University is a state-owned institution. The government likes funding projects associated with state-owned institutions. It benefits the government and will easily get local support.
A professor at Binghamton University, Stanley Whittingham, has very strong ties with iM3NY and high level U.S. political figures.
Whittingham mentored Shailesh Upreti who is the founder of C4V. Whittingham also previously sat on the board of Magnis. He’s no longer on the board of Magnis because of a conflict of interest due to potential funding from the Inflation Reduction Act. There was no fall out between Whittingham and Magnis.
Whittingham is close friends with Chuck Schumer. Those of you not familiar with U.S. politics, Chuck Schumer is the senate majority leader in congress. In other words, he’s the highest ranking congressman in the government. This year, Chuck Schumer invited Whittingham to Joe Biden’s State of the Union address at the Whitehouse. This sent a strong message to the rest of the government about his relationship with Whittingham and any projects associated with Whittingham.
Chuck Schumer has been very vocal about making upstate New York, especially Binghamton and Endicott, a clean energy manufacturing hub:
https://www.schumer.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/schumer-will-bring-binghamtons-dr-stan-whittingham-to-state-of-the-union-after-delivering-63m-to-help-make-southern-tier-and-upstate-ny-the-nations-next-major-battery-research-and-manufacturing-hub_senator-says-leaders-like-dr-whittingham-show-binghamton-is-ready-to-power-the-future-of-american-battery-innovation
Whittingham is the so called “founder of the Lithium-ion battery,” while working for a U.S energy giant, ExxonMobil. That’s an amazing reputation tied to iM3NY.
https://energyfactor.exxonmobil.com/energy-innovation/rd/the-history-of-batteries-lithium-ion-batteries-energy-factor/#:~:text=Stanley%20Whittingham.,the%20rechargeable%20lithium%2Dion%20battery
iM3NY already has experience with government funding. In 2016, C4V received $500,000 from the state of New York:
https://www.binghamton.edu/news/story/796/binghamton-university-start-up-moves-to-huron-campus. In 2019. C4V and iM3NY received $130 million from the state of New York.
https://www.chargecccv.com/updates/detail/14
Binghamton University is located a few hours outside New York City. That means it’s close proximity to the largest city in the U.S. Sourcing equipment and attracting talent to iM3NY should not be too difficult.
IM3NY took over an old IBM manufacturing and research facility. When you take over a facility from one of the largest companies in the world, and that is very well known in the U.S., people take notice.
IM3NY is run on clean energy. The U.S. government will favor companies that run on clean energy because it is very sensitive to carbon footprints.
Production is just starting at iM3NY. Timing couldn’t be better for government funding.
From a political perspective, when you consider all these points, I don’t see how iM3NY does not get a big investment from the U.S. Department of Energy. I would love to hear your thoughts!
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