What we talked about
Dr. Priyadarshi Panda is the founder and CEO of International Battery Company (IBC), a lithium-ion product company that works “from molecule to working product.” In this episode, he and Federico explore how his journey from small molecules and particle materials to 22 nm chip problems at Intel led him to building batteries that power the energy transition.
Show notes
Dr. Priyadarshi Panda went from working on Intel’s 4-nanometer chip nodes to building prismatic lithium-ion battery cells now powering over 1,200 two-wheelers on the streets of Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi, and Bhubaneswar. His company compressed what typically takes five or more years in the battery industry, from product concept to commercial sales, into under 18 months, by applying the same design-for-manufacturing discipline he learned in semiconductors.
What we covered
- IBC operates across three verticals simultaneously: innovating on anode and cathode materials in an ex-China supply chain, building drop-in electrochemistry devices that any manufacturer can use, and producing finished prismatic battery products, a combination Dr. Panda says no other company in the world does today.
- The choice of prismatic form factor over cylindrical or pouch is not just about shape, prismatic cells use a tabless design that dramatically reduces contact resistance under high current draw, enabling both faster charging and higher discharge rates without dangerous heat buildup.
- China’s battery dominance isn’t just about scale: Chinese material startups receive government grants that don’t need to be repaid and bank loans at 0.5–1% interest with 5–6 year payment moratoriums, conditions that are structurally impossible to replicate for innovators elsewhere.
- IBC’s first commercial product, the Prabal Thousand, was designed specifically for Indian two-wheeler manufacturers after a “scorecard analysis” revealed customers’ top two needs: high cycle life and tight manufacturing tolerances, the existing market required 20% cell scrapping due to poor consistency in competing products.
- Their Prabal 3000 and 3100 products use high-nickel cathodes with silicon-graphite anodes, delivering roughly 30–40% higher energy density than standard cells, enough to push an EV from around 350 miles to 500-plus miles per charge, while also enabling 6–8C discharge rates for faster acceleration.
- Dr. Panda argues the single most important shift for climate tech is philanthropic funding with zero ROI expectations, pointing to billionaires enriched by the AI era as the logical funders, because the profit motive alone cannot sustain the long timelines and capital requirements of energy innovation.
About Dr. Priyadarshi Panda
Dr. Panda is the founder and CEO of International Battery Company (IBC), which operates facilities in Silicon Valley, South Korea (a 50-megawatt-hour, 35,000 square-foot RAP facility), and India. He holds a PhD from MIT and a bachelor’s from IIT Kanpur, and spent over 15 years at Intel, Lam Research, Applied Materials, and IM3 New York before founding IBC.
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pdpanda
- Website: https://ibcbatt.com
Episode 85 of the PreVetted Podcast.