We Look Back At Our Next Energy’s Tesla Model S a Year Later

Our Next Energy, better known as ONE, seemingly came out of nowhere in 2022 when it showed off its Tesla Model S P100 with its swapped battery pack. Rather than use another battery pack with the same NMC-based lithium battery chemistry, this Model S was using a pack with ONE’s experimental version of the Gemini lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries in a modular pack. ONE’s replacement pack not only allowed the Tesla to weigh nearly the same, according to the company, but also went further on a single charge. With 203.7 kWh of capacity at the “system level,” this P100 S was able to make a full run around Michigan or 752 miles without recharging at any point. We sat down with Mujeeb Ijaz, president and CEO of ONE, at the ACT Expo to see just where that Model S is at and what’s going on with his company nearly one year later.

When we first spoke with Ijaz, ONE’s outlook was enthusiastic but realistic. The Gemini battery wouldn’t have a production sample ready until 2023 and a full production pack wouldn’t be here until 2026. However, if you walked around the booths of the Advanced Clean Technology Expo, you’d find many ONE battery pack being used or slated to be used in upcoming medium-duty commercial trucks. It’s amazing what a year and a 752-miles-on-a-single-charge Tesla will do to capture the attention of people with money to invest into companies like ONE.

Another part is thanks to the Biden Administration’s Infrastructure law that requires batteries to be made in the U.S. if OEMs want to take advantage of the tax incentives on EVs. “We’re very thankful for the focus on developing the U.S. supply chain,” said Ijaz, “Customers across the North American market are looking for battery companies that can help them with domestic supply.”

At this point, there are 11 companies that have backed ONE and its Aries and Gemini battery packs, but he couldn’t tell us who eight of them are due to contract. Three that were very prominent during the ACT Expo were Motiv Power Systems, Bollinger Motors, and the Shyft Group showing off their vehicles using ONE’s Aries LFP battery packs. “We see a very strong growth in the U.S. market interested in companies that can build not only packs—which we currently have launched the Aries pack from our Van Buren factory in Michigan—but we also have a cell factory that we’re working on that by the end of next year will be running at around 30,000 packs equivalent per year with cell manufacturing and pack manufacturing,” Ijaz said.

It’s not just the vehicle industry that is looking for a competent battery manufacturer based in North America. The energy storage industry has also caught on to what ONE is capable of early on and has joined the growing list of companies investing into Ijaz’s idea of a carbon-free world. ONE created a battery just for them as well, the Aries Grid. It’s an LFP battery system capable of between two, three, and six megawatt hours inside a 20- to 40-foot container. One customer already using the Aries Grid is Berkshire Hathaway Energy and its micro grid system. “Grids that are using solar plus energy storage,” Ijaz told us, and those products need very large scale energy storage systems that are stationary. We’re using the same battery pack that we’ve launched with the commercial truck market.”