- Lyten launching a drone propulsion unit to scale delivery of ultra-lightweight, U.S. sourced and manufactured lithium-sulfur batteries for drone applications.
- Lyten allocating manufacturing capacity in its California production facilities to meet needs of U.S. defense, UAV, and satellite sectors.
- Lyten now taking orders for its latest lithium-sulfur battery for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
San Jose, CA – May 8, 2025 – (BUSINESS WIRE) – Lyten, the supermaterial applications company and global leader in lithium-sulfur batteries, today announced a new national security-focused initiative to support the growing demand for high-endurance, wide-operational-radius drones for defense applications. The initiative is built on a next-generation drone energy storage system powered by Lyten’s ultra-lightweight lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Lyten is dedicating production capacity in its California manufacturing facilities to meet the unique needs of the U.S. defense, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and satellite sectors.
Lyten’s U.S.-sourced and manufactured lithium-sulfur batteries are uniquely positioned to help the Department of Defense meet two urgent modernization imperatives:
- Reducing dependence on foreign and adversarial supply chains for critical minerals, components, and batteries, and
- Enabling the deployment of lighter, longer range, and more capable UAV platforms.
“Defense initiatives increasingly rely on unmanned, autonomous systems, yet nearly all these systems are powered by raw materials and batteries sourced from geopolitical rivals,” said Dan Cook, Lyten Co-Founder and CEO. “We built Lyten’s lithium-sulfur battery platform to solve exactly this problem – to provide lightweight, high performance battery power that is locally sourced and locally manufactured in the United States.”
In a newly released demonstration flight video, Lyten showed its lithium-sulfur battery powering a U.S.-built, 3D-printed UAV. The drone was made by Titan Dynamics, utilizing a battery pack designed by Upgrade Energy, both located in Los Angeles. The successful flight of Titan’s 8.5 foot wingspan drone in Palos Verdes, California demonstrated flight time capability of over 3 hours while executing a wide range of maneuvers, at speeds of up to 86 mph. Lyten’s next upcoming drone battery release is targeting up to 8 hours of flight time on the Titan Dynamics platform.
Lyten’s lithium-sulfur batteries are free from nickel, manganese, cobalt, and graphite — minerals dominated by Chinese supply chains — enabling a secure, National Defense Appropriations Act (NDAA)-compliant energy solution for defense platforms. Lithium-Sulfur batteries, with their higher energy density, are designed to support longer flights, heavier payloads, and extended operational range.
“Lightweight propulsion is of critical importance to so many industries,” said Celina Mikolajczak, Lyten’s Chief Battery Technology Officer. “Satellites, drones, EVs, and micromobility can all dramatically improve in performance with lighter weight batteries. We have designed the lithium-sulfur battery platform to provide this lightweight performance, while avoiding materials subject to growing geopolitical and supply chain constraints.”
Lyten is currently taking orders for its latest lithium-sulfur battery for drones. Lyten previously announced a contract with the Defense Innovation Unit to demonstrate Lyten’s lithium-sulfur batteries on the International Space Station, slated for launch later this year. Lyten’s ultra-lightweight solution is now achieving over 3000 cycles for satellite applications.
Watch the Lyten lithium-sulfur powered drone video here: https://youtu.be/W856uYx2fMM
About Lyten
Lyten, founded in 2015, is a supermaterial applications company that has received more than $425 million in equity investment and secured LOIs for $650M in financing from the Export Import Bank of the US. Lyten has built a proprietary materials platform, called Lyten 3D Graphene, that it uses to build better performing, lower cost, and decarbonizing products, including its next generation lithium-sulfur battery.
The company lists more than 520 patents granted or pending and is currently manufacturing in San Jose, CA. Lyten recently announced the acquisition of Northvolt’s battery manufacturing plant in San Leandro, California to quickly scale production to meet the demand for American made batteries. in 2024, Lyten announced its integration into Chrysler’s Halcyon Concept electric vehicle, plans to integrate lithium-sulfur into AEVEX Aerospace’s unmanned aerial vehicles, and the selection of Lyten Lithium-Sulfur for demonstration on-orbit aboard the International Space Station (ISS), scheduled for launch later in 2025.
Lyten was named Fast Company’s #8 Most Innovative Energy Company and named one of America’s Top Green Technology Companies by Time in 2024 and one of the World’s Top Green Technology Companies by Time in 2025.
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Contacts
Bob Zeitlinger
bzeitlinger@makovsky.com
551-427-7298