The priority is to get the funding for scale up. The method of achieving this is obviously what needs to be explored.
One method to achieve this is through a public listing of iM3NY. This obviously will dilute the ownership stake of the existing parties, so comes with a cost. This can be done via IPO (costly and time consuming) or via SPAC.
Another option is through debt. iM3NY is in discussions with Loans Program Office in an attempt to achieve some funding under the infrastructure bill. There would also likely be discussions for potential private investment though end users or other entities which will form an equity component without having to list publicly.
My personal preference is to utilise debt as much as possible, but that obviously has costs in the form of interest.
I heard something that triggered a thought with me, and I will share as purely speculation.
Jigar mentions at 22:50: "If a state entity supports the applicant, then it actually moves away from the innovation requirements of our office"
This (to me) provides some clarity on Stan Whittingham leaving the board and separating himself from MNS/C4V/iM3NY. With Stan Whittingham part of a state-run entity and applying through "New Energy New York" for Build Back Better funding (of approx $100,000,000), separating himself from iM3NY ensures iM3NY remain eligible for LPO Funding. This explains Stan's comments regarding "conflict of interest" regarding the projects in his recent interview.
This I believe is exemplified though iM3NY not being a partner in the New Energy New York Project/Proposal, even though they are specifically mentioned in the vision of the proposal:
"New Energy NY seeks to help the U.S. meet the demand for domestic battery products by establishing a battery development and manufacturing hub in Upstate New York around an emerging storage ecosystem and New York’s first Li-ion gigafactory set to open in the Greater Binghamton/Broome County area in 2022 by Imperium3 (iM3NY). iM3NY’s planned 10GWh manufacturing capacity will spur a new manufacturing economy, realizing the vision set by the Regional Economic Development Council of becoming “a leader in innovation and integration of battery technology and the energy storage sector.”
Not only that, but iM3NY are also mentioned as the core of the project also:
"The industry cluster will be developed using a hub and spoke model. The hub will be located in Broome County centered around the iM3NY gigafactory and the BATTERY-NY Center. The spoke in Albany (Capital region), with NY-BEST, NYSERDA, ESD/NYSTAR, and SUNY RF, will promote connectivity and synergies of the hub and program projects with organizations, resources, and opportunities throughout the state. The Rochester area spoke will provide earlier-stage prototyping support, prior to the scale-up and manufacturing support provided by BATTERY-NY. Spokes in the surrounding Southern Tier counties, with community college, incubator, and government coalition members, will help propagate cluster benefits to regional rural communities"
Anyway, purely speculation.
My takeaway is the iM3NY project is a foundational component to the developments around Broome County and upstate New York advanced manufacturing and jobs growth, and should New Energy New York consortium be one of the 20-30 finalists selected for the up to $100mill grant, this opens up additional benefit and justification for government stepping in to provide financing for iM3NY via DOE LPO debt facility, as this will help ensure success of the project and justification for the grant.
At this stage, it is uncertain what method will be taken. Initially SPAC was thrown around as a lot of company's were doing it and it was much easier and cost effective when compared to an IPO, though there has since been scrutiny on this as a method of listing and a large number of SPAC's have subsequently had significant downward revaluations. We'll just have to wait and see. They will continue to explore options and determine what are the most appropriate.
Also, here is a nice news story regarding Li-Ion battery in Southern Tier featuring Stan Whittingham
(20min delay)