What happened with SES today?
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Automakers and other manufacturers pay SES AI Corporation to discover, design and develop battery materials to their specifications. These services bring in more revenue than product sales. Its Molecular Universe AI platform supports material discovery, battery-cell development and battery health and safety monitoring. Battery researchers can also pay for subscription access to the platform, either in the cloud or on their own premises.
The product business sells residential and commercial energy storage systems, drone battery cells and battery materials such as electrolytes. UZ Energy, which SES AI acquired, supplies the energy storage business that accounts for much of its product sales. Its storage systems combine hardware with software that monitors battery health and safety.
SES AI remains early-stage, with revenue insufficient to cover its operating spending. A small group of customers supplies most of its revenue, and one customer contributes a particularly large share. Further battery sales depend on manufacturers turning sample evaluations into orders and retaining its batteries in their products. Export-license requirements in China, the United States and South Korea apply to some of its products or technology and can restrict where it can sell or transfer them.
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Every company claims an edge. Each one is checked against hard numbers like margins and returns: which hold, and which line gives way first.
SES AI’s materials commercialization also depends on its joint venture with Hisun New Energy Materials, which is intended to manufacture its newly discovered electrolytes at commercial scale.
Amprius Technologies competes with SES AI to sell high-performance battery cells to drone and other aviation customers. Its SiCore cell sales in aviation are worth watching for evidence of which batteries these customers choose.
Solid Power competes with SES AI for battery manufacturers’ and automakers’ spending on next-generation battery materials. It plans to sell sulfide-based solid electrolyte to manufacturers that make their own cells; progress from customer samples toward commercial sales is the development to watch alongside SES AI’s electrolyte testing.
QuantumScape and SES AI develop next-generation lithium-metal batteries for automotive customers, and SES AI also names QuantumScape as a drone-cell competitor. Watch milestones in QuantumScape’s work with PowerCo to scale up its technology, which involves collaboration payments and licensing, as a marker of the competing automotive technology’s progress.
Enovix Corporation competes with SES AI in high-performance rechargeable cells for aviation and defense applications, including drone and robotics cells. Its sales of custom batteries to device manufacturers in these markets are more relevant to SES AI than its smartphone-focused AI-1 platform.
Elong Power competes with SES AI in residential and commercial lithium-battery storage systems, with both serving overseas customers through China-based operations. Elong’s overseas sales through distributors are the business to watch against SES AI’s storage expansion following its UZ Energy acquisition.
Microvast competes with SES AI in lithium-ion storage systems and in selling battery materials or components to manufacturers. Its storage-system and component sales are the closest comparison for SES AI, rather than its core business supplying batteries for commercial and specialty vehicles.
KULR Technology Group overlaps with SES AI in supplying batteries and safety-management capabilities for drone, aviation and autonomous-platform customers. KULR sells complete custom battery systems and testing services, making its Air platform for drones and manned aviation the offering most relevant to SES AI’s aviation cells.
Fluence Energy competes with SES AI in battery storage systems that combine hardware and software, but mainly serves utility-scale projects rather than SES AI’s residential and commercial customers. Its contracted storage backlog offers a view of demand in that larger-project market, not a direct comparison with SES AI’s customer base.
QuantumScape Corporation earningsQS
QuantumScape’s report may show how its PowerCo collaboration is progressing toward scale, a competing lithium-metal path that could shape the automotive opportunity SES AI is pursuing.
Look for disclosed milestones in the PowerCo collaboration and any progress in the associated collaboration payments or licensing. Clear scale-up milestones would show that an automotive customer is advancing this competing technology, making the alternative to SES AI more concrete. Limited progress would leave its route to commercial scale unproven, not establish an advantage for SES AI.
Solid Power, Inc. earningsSLDP
Solid Power, Inc.’s report may show whether battery makers are moving its sulfide solid electrolyte from samples toward commercial purchases, revealing whether competing materials are advancing for customers SES AI also seeks.
Look for customer samples and testing to advance into qualification, orders or commercial sales. Commercial sales or clear customer progress would show manufacturers are paying for a competing material, giving SES AI’s electrolyte work a more established alternative to contend with. If activity remains at sampling and testing, conversion to purchases is still unproven, and demand for SES AI’s materials also remains to be validated by customers.
Amprius Technologies, Inc. earningsAMPX
Amprius Technologies, Inc.’s report may show whether aviation customers are buying its SiCore cells, a competing battery for drone and other aviation buyers SES AI also pursues.
Look for growth in SiCore sales to aviation customers and any disclosed evidence of customer adoption. Rising sales with adoption evidence would show these buyers choosing Amprius cells, making competition for SES AI more tangible. Limited sales or no disclosed adoption progress would leave Amprius’s aviation demand unproven; it would not show that SES AI has won orders.
Microvast Holdings, Inc. earningsMVST
Microvast’s report will show how its storage-system and component sales are changing, offering a competitive-market reference for SES AI’s storage and materials businesses.
Read Microvast’s storage-system sales separately from its component sales. Growth in both would show buyers still purchasing competing products, supporting demand in markets relevant to SES AI’s storage and materials businesses; weakness would make this competitive demand signal less supportive. Microvast also centers on commercial and specialty-vehicle batteries, so its overall results are not a direct measure of SES AI customer demand.
SES AI Corporation earningsThis company
SES AI Corp’s report will show whether customer services and energy-storage system sales can keep bringing in revenue without eroding gross margin.
Read service revenue, product revenue and gross margin together. Growth in both service and product revenue with a steady margin would show that service contracts and energy-storage sales are expanding without materially weakening the revenue mix. If revenue grows while gross margin falls, the added business is bringing in revenue on weaker economics. Stalled revenue would leave sustained commercialization unproven.
