Case Study: Powering Natrion Through the Crucible
About Natrion
A U.S. based battery materials company founded in 2018 and headquartered in Binghamton, New York. The company develops and manufactures an advanced active separator — a fire-safe material that upgrades traditional lithium-ion cells into high-performance solid-state or lithium- metal batteries with greater energy density, all without requiring changes to existing factory processes.
The Challenge: A Make-or-Break Moment
IRI Ventures invested in Nation at the pre-seed stage, confident in its vision and potential. As Nattion entered a critical fundraising phase, CIRI Ventures stepped in with deep, hands-on engagement to help sharpen focus, accelerate execution, and build momentum where it mattered most.
CIRI’s Intervention: From Crisis to Catalyst
We work shoulder-to-shoulder with founder Alex to turn prototypes into real, margin-positive products. With Natrion, 39 targeted interventions helped the company's trajectory from the ground up.
Reduced operating costs and extended runway through focused cost control
Defined the minimum viable scope to produce B-samples and cut capex significantly
Secured additional funding to support development and scale
Fast-tracked B-sample delivery to top-tier customers and shifted into commercial execution
The Outcome: From Surviving to Scaling
Results in under 12 months:
Transformed from critical early-stage challenges to becoming one of the few battery materials companies globally shipping B-samples
Scaled production from under 100K sam to over 2M sam month through capital- efficient execution
Secured commercial validation and customer trust from top-tier global players, reigniting growth trajectory
CIRI Ventures doesn’t just invest early — we go deep when it matters most.
From $100k to Multi-Million Scale
CIRI Ventures backed the company at pre-seed and worked side by side with founder Alex through 39 targeted interventions to unlock capital-efficient growth
Streamlined capex to produce B-samples at reduced cost
Extended runway through opex realignment
Accelerated execution to reach global tier-one customers
Laid the foundation for commercial production and revenue
Results in under 12 months:
Scaled from 250K to 2M+ sqm/month
Customers: LG, BMW, Porsche, Panasonic
Generating $3M+ in annualized cashflow
Targeting 20M - 40M sqm capacity⟶ $100M+ ARR and $3B - $8B valuation
Shaped by Ciri’s execution-first approach, Natrion scaled from 100K to over 2M sqm/month and now ships B-samples to top-tier global customers.
