MFG Game Changers: eMatrix Energy

Though Plato first suggested thousands of years ago that “necessity is the mother of invention,” he could have been talking about Royal Oak-based eMatrix – a company focused on creating dynamic battery packaging solutions for manufacturers. 

eMatrix was born as an idea between four partners to solve what they saw as a major deficiency in the battery production industry – no custom battery packaging. While working for an electric vehicle manufacturer in 2016, eMatrix’s founders experienced so much trouble finding battery solutions to fit their products, they decided to start their own company.

Since then, President, CEO and Founder Idan Kovent and his team have never looked back.

“We couldn’t find a single battery packaging company that would make a custom solution that would fit our application, within our budget and schedule,” says Kovent. “We were being forced to take whatever they had available off the shelf.”

How eMatrix is changing the game

Battery systems are complex and expensive with much of the cost to develop a custom battery application coming in the design and prototyping phases. Large OEMs overcome these upstream challenges through economies of scale, but for the mid-sized to smaller companies, it becomes simply cost prohibitive. Kovent sees a world where these companies will have the same access to battery customization as the OEMs.

“These high costs for prototypes and lead times are usually not an issue for the big OEMs but there are many small companies out there with wonderful electric-powered applications that require a battery system and can't afford a high-priced and very long lead time prototype,” says Kovent. “(Our clients) don’t have to sacrifice their ideas to make their vision come to life.”

Typically, there are two main barriers when it comes to developing a new battery application: cost and speed. Kovent’s vision for the company was to tackle these two issues head on as he witnessed himself how those factors would hinder, and sometimes kill, exciting new products.

Both eMatrix’s signature product, the modular eBrick™ System, and the software that accompanies it, are designed to fit into products quickly and economically. Many companies don’t have months or years to develop and test a battery application, says Kovent. In this regard, eMatrix has been modeled after more consumer-oriented product companies such as Apple and Dell. Ironically, one can see eMatrix as a successful ancillary company springing up from a larger market trend – just like protective cases to Smartphones. 

“We’re making (battery systems) the way that iPhones are made in which the product is highly customizable and made for the consumer and updates can be made often based on customer feedback,” he says.

What’s next for eMatrix?

While eMatrix is currently focused on the automotive sector, the company has plans to diversify into marine, aerospace and beyond. Kovent sees the company’s battery solutions as being “an enabler” to other conceptual electric applications especially when it comes to their market niche of smaller and mid-sized companies.

“We like focusing on the smaller companies that support the bigger companies,” says Kovent. “This is where we can really shine and have a positive impact on the industry.”

Learn More About Our Gamechanger

Headquarters: Royal Oak
Web: ematrixenergy.com

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