From Discovery to Disruption: How COnovate is Powering the Future with Sustainable Battery Materials

**Milwaukee **– Access to energy is a fundamental need. As the world electrifies, the way we deliver that energy is changing. Not only to meet demand, but to ensure sustainability, security, and fairness in how energy is produced and shared.

I believe the path to sustainable energy lies in smarter, cleaner and renewable materials. Materials that can power lives without compromising futures. And I’d like to be, and for COnovate and its innovations to be, part of that solution. Advancing access to energy while ensuring environmental sustainability, security and performance are part of the overall strategy.

COnovate didn’t start as a company. It started with a discovery. A breakthrough in materials science that evolved into a mission to commercialize one of the most promising battery technologies of our time: eCOphite™ Composite Materials.

A Scientific Discovery with Unlikely Potential

During my years as a physics professor at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, I had the opportunity to collaborate with fellow scientists and visionaries. Together, we identified something unexpected in the lab: a stable, solid form of carbon monoxide.

It was called graphene monoxide, a material with a completely new structure and set of properties. That discovery eventually became eCOphite Active Anode Materials, a high-performance anode material for lithium-ion batteries. A new kind of anode, born in a lab. We realized it had the potential to do more than advance science. It could improve the way the world stores and delivers energy.

The discovery of eCOphite Materials wasn’t just new. It was promising. It charged faster. Stored more lithium. Worked better in cold conditions. And most importantly, it could be made from renewable bio-feedstocks. Offering a sustainable, scalable alternative to traditional graphite, which is currently mined and processed almost entirely overseas.

From University Roots to Startup Leadership

We took the leap from research to entrepreneurship and founded COnovate. Like many deep-tech startups, the journey is continually shaped by experimentation, persistence, and belief in the long view.

We began scaling production of eCOphite Materials from grams to kilograms, refining the process and validating performance with partners across the battery supply chain. This was a bio-sourced solution to address the challenges of performance, sustainability, and critical materials security in battery production. From early grants to institutional backing, we’ve built momentum one step at a time.

COnovate’s mission is grounded in the idea that battery innovation should be both practical and principled. Additionally, our timing is no accident. Battery demand is growing rapidly, across transportation, grid storage, electronics, and defense, while critical minerals and supply chain security have become urgent national priorities.

As I’ve said before, “My audience in Europe is focused on sustainability. My audience in the U.S. is focused on national security. eCOphite Composites speaks to both.”

Recognition and the Road Ahead

Last Fall, we were honored to be selected for a $1 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office, through its Critical Materials Accelerator program. This represents national recognition of what we’ve known for years: that advanced battery materials like eCOphite Active Anode Materials are essential to a sustainable energy future, and that scaling domestic production is a matter of strategic importance and security.

We are continuing our work, growing partnerships, preparing for scaled manufacturing, and supporting ongoing testing of eCOphite Materials with battery developers. As we move forward, our focus remains clear: to create a reliable, domestically produced alternative to mined graphite, imported graphite materials and fossil-derived carbon.

COnovate’s vision isn’t limited to what’s possible in the lab. It’s rooted in what’s needed in the world.

Energy touches every part of modern life. At COnovate, we are building materials that reflect that responsibility. With energy storage solutions that are renewable, high-performing, and compatible with the systems the world already relies on.

I invite manufacturers, investors, policymakers, and fellow innovators to join us in this mission.

If we’re going to power the world, let’s do it right.

Carol Hirschmugl CEO and Co-founder COnovate, Inc.

**About COnovate ** COnovate was created to commercialize the discovery of graphene monoxide (GmO), the first solid form of carbon monoxide at atmospheric temperatures and pressures. The company secured an exclusive, worldwide license from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Research Foundation to develop products based on this discovery, initially focusing on lithium-ion batteries. COnovate has developed eCOphite Anode Material, a safer, lower-cost, higher-capacity alternative to graphite-only batteries. COnovate has secured additional IP, has 7 employees, and has raised more than $5 million in federal and state grants, and $2.5 million in investment funding.

For more information on investing in COnovate and its cutting-edge technologies, visit www.conovateinc.com.