TDK Ventures invested in Glimpse in March 2025 (press release here)
A successful energy transformation will require a prevalence of battery storage, which is critical for mobility and grid resiliency. Data from BNEF’s Lithium-Ion Batteries: State of the Industry, 2024 report, underscores this reliance. Mobility battery demand has grown from 185 GWh in 2020 to 1,006 GWh in 2024 and is projected to reach 3,169 GWh by 2030 in BNEF’s base case. Mobility, primarily driven by electric vehicles, is the largest market for battery production. Despite reports suggesting a slowdown in EV demand, 2024 sales of electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrids reached 17.1 million units globally, a 25% increase compared to 2023 sales[1]. In the EV industry, batteries are expected to deliver premium longevity, with vehicles remaining on the road in unpredictable conditions for many years — often exceeding 2,000 charging cycles[2].
Similarly, stationary storage battery demand surged from 11.8 GWh in 2020 to 168.7 GWh in 2024 and is expected to rise to 521 GWh by 2030, although some sources call for up to 1,500GWh by 2030[3]. Storage demand is driven by the need for grid stabilization as renewables like solar and wind make up an increasing share of power generation. The rule of thumb for modern intermittent renewable energy projects is to construct 2:1 generation to storage ratio. For both mobility and stationary storage, this expected growth is more than triple over the next five years, producing revenues of over $400B for battery storage by 2030[4]. Manufacturers will need to rapidly increase production capacity to meet this demand. According to the same data source, the number of battery-producing facilities, each with multiple production lines, is expected to grow from ~500 today to over 1,500 by 2030.
Meanwhile, mature battery markets, such as consumer devices, continue to innovate with new chemistries and designs on biannual product development cycles. For both emerging and established markets, battery quality control is in the spotlight as manufacturing is expanded to meet skyrocketing demand. The battery industry has seen challenges with ramping up high-quality production globally, causing manufacturers to chase higher yields to both lower costs and compete with established manufacturers.
Battery Cell Quality Control Is at a Premium
Battery electric vehicle (BEV) recalls rose 533% between 2018 and 2023[5] and threaten to slow down energy transition in US/Europe. Extreme cases, such as one particular EV recall in 2021, have resulted in well over one billion dollars in payouts for afflicted battery customers. Tragically, New York’s Fire Department has stated that batteries, often used in e-bikes and scooters, have resulted in 929 fires in the city and 33 deaths since 2019[6]. To address this, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Consumer Standards for Lithium-Ion Batteries Act in May 2024, aimed at establishing standards for lithium-ion battery devices, with Senate confirmation expected to follow soon.
These failures are generally mechanical in nature, stemming from damage to the cell, misalignment of layered materials, metal contaminants, and more. Furthermore, due to the many cycles and often harsh environments that batteries operate in, cell failure may be latent, appearing over time due to lithium dendrite formation, gases produced by cell chemistry, and/or swelling of the battery cell. Although these failures are latent, they commonly stem from identifiable manufacturing defects. Ultimately, the main cause of battery fires is that one of these failure mechanisms may cause an internal short circuit, resulting in a rapid discharge and sparking the electrolyte and cathode material to combust.
This challenge extends beyond safety and reliability to manufacturing costs, where yield is often considered a critical driver. For emerging producers, yields during ramp-up phases can range from 30–40%[7] and may take several years to increase. Even at steady-state yields of 70–80%, these manufacturers face significant cost disadvantages compared to established Chinese producers, who achieve yields of 95%. According to NREL modeling, this disparity can result in manufacturing costs being up to 30% higher per battery cell[8]. The increased costs arise from higher energy, material, and labor expenses per successful production cell, as well as the need to amortize capital costs over a smaller number of cells. From a top-line perspective, one expert from a Tier-1 battery manufacturer that we spoke with estimated that a 1% yield loss can result in $20M of revenue lost for a gigafactory per year.
In-Line CT Scanning Could Be One of the Key Metrology Capabilities for Improving Battery Quality
TDK Ventures has been actively following the battery management systems and analytics space for over 3 years. We have investigated many startups in this time, but we have struggled to build conviction in navigating the many challenges associated with commercialization in this space. Although emerging techniques that collect novel data can be powerful for battery QC, these data streams do not integrate seamlessly into their customers’ workflows. New methods of metrology can take 2+ years to qualify and even then, require new workflows and data sets.
Figure 1: Example CT images at different Voxel Sizes (Credit: Cactux)
Alternatively, CT scans provide data that customers are already familiar with interpreting and meet the full range of customer needs. Our research has shown that rapid 3D-CT scanning for batteries is the optimal solution, excelling in the following areas:
- Delivering diagnostic results,
- Enabling full cell inspection,
- Achieving a voxel size (or “resolution” in other methods) of <10 microns, and
- Supporting throughput fast enough for future battery manufacturing lines.
Figure 2: Attributes of various battery metrologies
Conversations with customers highlighted the attributes they value in a battery QC method. We learned that catching most failures is crucial, with one subject matter expert stating, “In-line CT scanning would be the dream for battery QC. No other tools could possibly catch 80 to 90 percent of defects.” We also gained valuable insights into the importance of image quality, particularly the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), with a customer remarking, “We are very impressed by Glimpse’s image quality, the SNR is much better than the conventional high-resolution 1h+ scan.”; representing the importance of image quality for catching micron-scale mechanical defects.
From an investment perspective, startups in the battery management systems space have historically struggled to capture sufficient value to achieve a significant exit, such as a large M&A or IPO. Non-CT modalities have lacked a “killer application” to address the most pressing customer pain point: in-line quality control applicable to the current workflow in gigafactories today. Traditionally, 3D-CT scanning has been limited to troubleshooting teams or R&D projects due to its low throughput, constraining its market potential. However, the market size for R&D applications alone is unlikely to support a venture-scale outcome (i.e., $100’s of millions in revenue). By enabling in-line or higher-frequency batch scanning, Glimpse is expanding the addressable market for CT scanning in batteries by approximately 7x, according to our estimates.
Rapid CT scanning has also opened a second battery quality control market — not only do battery manufacturers care to improve their quality control processes, but battery procurers, such as manufacturers of EVs, power tools, electric bicycles, consumer devices have been eager to work with Glimpse to ensure that their completed devices pass the quality bar. This market includes thousands of manufacturers that could potentially procure several CT scanners each.
Glimpse Is Building a Versatile Solution That Meets Customer Requirements in the Battery Industry and Beyond
Conventionally, producing insights from battery CT scanning requires around one hour per cell due to slow scan times and large data volumes — up to 100 gigabytes per scan — needed for image reconstruction. Glimpse addresses these challenges by leveraging optimized CT scanning software techniques from adjacent industries, streamlining data acquisition through enhanced sequencing, and applying a proprietary image enhancement algorithm to compress file sizes. These innovations enable a 30x reduction in scan times, with a long-term goal of achieving sub-second scans, all while maintaining high-quality imaging for battery quality control.
Additionally, the smaller file sizes and Glimpse Portal’s user-friendly interface significantly accelerate image processing. Users can seamlessly interact with 3D images on a standard laptop, and the Portal automatically extracts critical cell features, such as electrode overhang. This functionality empowers quality and production teams to efficiently analyze large volumes of cell-level data.
Figure 3: Glimpse’s software can maintain image quality at shorter scan times (Credit: Glimpse)
Glimpse’s software employs advanced CT scanning techniques on existing industrial micro-CT scanners with resolutions from 5 to 100 microns. Designed for flexibility, Glimpse’s software integrates seamlessly with a wide range of CT scanning systems, making it suitable for deployment in nearly any gigafactory. Remarkably, the solution can be installed on-site within just one day.
Ultimately, Glimpse plans to enable what battery experts hailed as the “holy grail” of battery QC: in-line full-cell CT scanning. Once Glimpse realizes scan times in the order of a second per cell, it will be possible to image every cell coming off a production line, creating an extremely tight feedback loop between production, yield, and quality. While this is useful for pass/fail characterization, ubiquitous scanning goes well beyond quality assurance. Entire battery lines will have process control to actively monitor drift in cell attributes and can adjust parameters before the problem imperils manufacturing yields. Through automated feature extraction, Glimpse enhances quality control teams’ capabilities, surpassing the limitations of manual piecewise analysis.
TDK Ventures Is Thrilled to Partner with Glimpse as They Redefine Quality Control in Battery Manufacturing
TDK Ventures strives to invest according to our triple bottom line: outsized financial returns, strategic value to TDK, and contribution to society. As stated before, we believe that Glimpse is well positioned for maximum financial value capture in this accelerating space, addressing one of the most significant customer pain points in battery manufacturing. From a strategic perspective, TDK has a long history of large-scale production of batteries, passive components, and other electronics that would largely benefit from this solution. TDK is committed to a zero-defect standard, driving quality control practices from the bottom-up. Finally, Glimpse is contributing to society by not only potentially reducing the direct harm of battery fires, but also by improving consumer trust in electric mobility by reducing recalls. We estimate that 30MT-100MT of CO2 emissions would be caused by a 1%-5% delay in EV adoption. This is equivalent to the emissions from burning 109 billion pounds of coal, or the energy use of 12 million homes.
By addressing critical pain points with innovative solutions, Glimpse is poised to revolutionize the industry and pave the way for in-line CT scanning — the holy grail of battery QC. Their unparalleled expertise, groundbreaking technology, and customer-centric approach position them as a pivotal player in energy transformation. We are excited to see how Glimpse’s contributions will drive progress and innovation, accelerating the electrification revolution and ensuring a sustainable energy future.
Press release: TDK Ventures Invests in Glimpse, Builders of a Next Generation Battery Quality Management Platform (March 5, 2025)
