Small. Flat. Rectangular. That’s what batteries look like, right? Not anymore – at least if Gabe Elias has his way.
Elias, CEO and co-founder of Miami-based startup Material Hybrid Manufacturing, or MATERIAL, wants batteries to fit products, not the other way around. His company just raised $7.1 million in seed funding to make that vision real. The round, co-led by Outlander Ventures and Harpoon Ventures, with participation from GoAhead Ventures, Myelin VC, Demos Capital, and Giant Step Capital, will help MATERIAL scale manufacturing of its 3D printed batteries.
“This is a really massive step for us as a company,” Elias told Refresh Miami. “Hardware businesses are difficult, and we require significant amounts of capital. But this is exactly the kind of innovation the U.S. needs right now for domestic energy production.”
MATERIAL’s technology, developed alongside co-founder Dr. Chris Reyes, can print batteries into any shape or form. The duo calls their flagship manufacturing platform Hybrid3D, a “cheeseburger machine” that compresses a dozen traditional production steps into one. It can print the main battery components – anode, cathode, separator, and casing – inside a single container. The result is a fully customized energy cell that can power devices with odd shapes or tight space constraints.
“We’re future-proofing the battery industry,” Elias said. “If a new chemistry comes online tomorrow, we can print it. We’re not tied to one formula or format. That flexibility is what keeps us competitive with billion-dollar Chinese manufacturers.”
That competitiveness just won them some major attention from Washington. MATERIAL recently secured a $1.25 million Air Force contract to produce conformal batteries for small drones and other defense applications. The goal: extend flight time and payload capacity by more than 50%.
As part of that work, MATERIAL is collaborating with PDW and other U.S. defense developers to integrate conformal batteries directly into small unmanned aerial systems. By designing energy storage around the airframe itself, rather than packing in standard cylindrical cells, the company expects to unlock major gains in performance.
“MATERIAL’s ability to tailor battery geometry to our airframe would allow us to push endurance and payload limits further,” Darsan Patel, director of product design at PDW, shared in a statement. “Conformal energy technology bridges the gap between rapid prototyping and field-ready performance.”
“Drones are the new medium of warfare,” Elias said. “It makes sense that we need to fit more energy on-device, now. Our technology gives the warfighter lighter, more efficient batteries without compromise.”
That partnership was made possible through the government’s SBIR program, which funds early-stage tech companies working on complex hardware problems. For MATERIAL, it’s a bridge over what Elias calls “the valley of death,” or the costly gap between a working prototype and commercial-scale production.
“Hardware is expensive,” he said. “You can’t survive on the same kind of $500K seed checks software startups get. Government funding helps us cross that chasm so we can get to market faster.”
Beyond performance gains, the Air Force work also points to a larger ambition. MATERIAL envisions a future where battery manufacturing can happen closer to where energy is needed, rather than relying on long, fragile supply chains. The company is exploring containerized production units that could be deployed to manufacture mission-critical power systems on demand, reducing dependence on overseas suppliers and shortening lead times for both defense and industrial customers.
MATERIAL operates between two hubs: its R&D and manufacturing site in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood, and a chemistry lab at Texas State University’s STAR Park, led by Reyes. The Miami roots are no accident. Elias, a University of Miami graduate and former F1 design engineer, returned to build what he calls “a real hardware company” in his hometown.
“When I graduated, there were no real hardware jobs here,” he said. “Now, we’re creating them. Half of our roughly 10-person team is based in South Florida, many of them local graduates. We’re building something that could inspire the next generation of engineers to stay and create.”
MATERIAL’s next 18 months will focus on pilot programs, key hires, and refining its manufacturing process. While defense is expected to be MATERIAL’s first major customer, the company is already testing its technology with consumer electronics partners and running pilot programs across mobility, robotics, and wearable devices, all built around the same core idea: eliminate dead space by letting energy storage conform to the product itself.
“I’m excited to see electrified devices that look nothing like what we have today,” he said. “When energy storage can take any form, design itself changes. That’s when things get interesting.”
Pictured above: From left to right, Material Hybrid Manufacturing founders Miles Dotson, Gabe Elias and Christopher Reyes.
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