Cuberg Hosts Clean Energy Event Featuring Secretary of Energy

On February 26, 2024, San Leandro battery company, Cuberg, hosted the U.S. Secretary of Energy, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, the Mayor of San Leandro, and other leaders and officials to highlight the growth and success of their business and California’s clean energy industry overall.

Utilizing lithium metal anode and a unique electrolyte chemistry formula, Cuberg’s trailblazing light energy technology is propelling aviation and high-performance vehicle companies into the next generation of battery technology and electric mobility. Cuberg is the recipient of several grants from the California Energy Commission (CEC), including a recent award of $11.2 million toward the construction of the San Leandro facility.

Since its arrival in San Leandro in 2020, Cuberg has continuously been one of the fastest-growing businesses in town. When Cuberg arrived, it had a few dozen employees. In 2024, that number has grown to nearly 230. The rapid growth is in part a result of the 2021 acquisition of Cuberg by Swedish battery giant Northvolt, whose dedication to sustainable energy solutions mirrors that of Cuberg founder Richard Wang.

The event featured remarks by Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, California Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild, Northvolt CEO Peter Carlsson, and Northvolt CEO for North America, Paolo Cerruti, and Cuberg’s new CEO Shauna McIntyre. Several hundred invited guests, including key representatives of the clean energy industry, government, and academia, attended.

In her introduction, Congresswoman Lee stressed the importance of the continued development of sustainable energy as a means to combat the negative effects of climate change.

Hochschild shared how California has defied the sceptics’ prediction that the state’s economy could plummet as a result of increased adoption of clean energy practices, instead applauding the rise from the tenth largest economy in the world a decade ago to the fifth in 2024.

Secretary Granholm praised the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act’s investments in developing a supply chain for electric vehicle battery production in the U.S. and shared an outlook of immense job creation as a result of more growth in sustainable energy development and implementation.

“We as a nation did not have a federal or a national strategy [to combat the recent decline in U.S. auto manufacturing], but this president stepped in and said, ‘No, we’re not going to do that. We’re going to build stuff in America.”

Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm

Northvolt CEOs Carlsson and Cerruti shared the origin story of their company, their vision to make battery manufacturing cleaner and more sustainable, and how their path crossed with Cuberg’s, consequently resulting in their acquisition of the growing company. Northvolt’s network is expanding throughout Europe, and now to Montreal, Canada, where plans for the sixth gigafactory are underway.

San Leandro’s Clean Energy Future

The event took place in Cuberg’s state-of-the-art facility at 2020 Williams Street in San Leandro – a part of Gate510, an innovative tech, biotech, and life sciences campus for entrepreneurs to set up shop and grow their vision.

San Leandro is the home of a growing number of clean energy companies. With a great location, available space, a business-friendly environment and good quality of life, companies like Cuberg are able to expand and create good jobs that create a more sustainable energy future. 

“We’re proud to grow our business here in the Bay Area and put San Leandro at the center of the global energy transition,” says Founder Richard Wang, ‘This is a growing community with access to top Silicon Valley talent, and we’re looking forward to thriving here for years to come.”

“We were attracted to San Leandro for various reasons,” says Rizwan Dard, Strategy Manager for Cuberg. “Geography played a key role in the move, but so did the support we received from the City. They have been very gracious in supporting our endeavors to bring this high-tech, innovative battery production facility to the area.”