Sai Shivareddy is the co-founder and CEO of Nyobolt, a provider of high-power fast-charging energy solutions. His experience includes over a decade working in research and development in both industry and academia, where he invented several products relating to super-capacitors, advanced materials, and battery technologies. He has also led product development and commercial teams globally in the battery industry at startups and corporate firms.
Shivareddy holds a Ph.D. in engineering from St John’s College at Cambridge University in England, where he worked with household appliance maker Dyson on developing new concepts for high-power energy storage technologies.
Q: How would you describe the current market for batteries and integrated energy systems?
A: We’re in the middle of an energy crisis due to both a global energy shortage and an increase in demand. As supply chains and autonomous mobile robots operate 24/7, AI [artificial intelligence] data centers guzzle more power, manufacturing and construction accelerates, and electric vehicle adoption continues, the need for batteries and integrated energy systems has never been more important, especially because they can help find solutions for mitigating the energy gap of these insatiable data centers.
The size of the global battery market was estimated at $154.12 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $554.83 billion by 2033, according to [market research and consulting firm] Grand View Research. The race is on to provide sustainable solutions to meet the needs of an increasingly electrified world where instant power is a necessity.
Q: As an engineer, what drew you to the battery industry?
A: For as long as I can remember, I’ve been curious about how things were powered. While studying for my doctorate in engineering at Cambridge, I became fascinated with battery materials. There I worked closely with Dyson on concepts for high-power energy storage technologies, and I knew developing energy solutions would be my mission.
While my career has spanned mining, materials, and manufacturing, it was science that led me to entrepreneurship. Once my co-founder, Clare Grey, and our team made breakthroughs in the lab, I couldn’t wait to translate those discoveries into real-world solutions for industries where instant power is mission-critical, including autonomous robotics, AI data centers, and transportation.
Q: What are the most important advances you’ve seen recently in power technologies?
A: While energy density (the ability to deliver longer run-times) continues to improve slowly, power density has been slow to catch up until recently. Previously, a super-capacitor, or ultra-cap, was the only available technology to get the high peak currents needed for today’s demanding products. Nyobolt’s battery technology now has the power advantages of a super-cap with the energy of a Li-ion [lithium-ion] battery—bringing the best of both [technologies] to enable new capabilities from mobile robotics to AI data centers.
Q: What are the biggest advantages that modern fast-charging systems bring to operations?
A: The world now operates at one speed: always-on. Ultra-fast charging increases uptime and eliminates downtime because the battery charges simultaneously. Nyobolt’s batteries’ life cycle is at least 10 times that of traditional lithium-ion technology, allowing robots to operate longer, more reliably, and with reduced operating expense.
Our collaboration with Symbotic Inc., the leader in AI-enabled robotics technology for the supply chain, where we’re supplying the battery technology for its SymBot autonomous mobile robots, illustrates how the bots can do substantially more work, be teleoperated for longer, and travel farther between charges—providing greater flexibility, speed, and efficiency in moving goods through the supply chain.
Q: What types of material handling equipment are best suited for your power systems?
A: We help companies in industries where speed, uptime, and reliability matter most. Our ultra-fast charging technology and compact advanced power solutions unlock unmatched performance across fleets of material handling robots, forklifts, pallet jacks, and humanoid robots as well as other demanding industrial equipment.
Our mission at Nyobolt is to accelerate progress of the AI-driven, electrified world by providing instant power to mission-critical industries.
Q: Can you briefly explain what is meant by power density and why this is important for material handling equipment?
A: Power density in batteries measures how quickly energy can be delivered or absorbed per unit of mass. It is typically measured in watts per kilogram (W/kg) or in volume—watts per liter (W/L).
Traditionally, a battery’s capacity (energy) is measured in amp-hours or watt-hours, always with a time component: this many watts for this much time. Power is the instant watts or amps that a battery can deliver while still maintaining its output voltage.
High power density means a battery can release a large amount of energy in a short amount of time, which is critical for applications requiring rapid bursts of energy or high power output. Nyobolt’s batteries deliver more energy density than super-capacitors while matching lithium-ion energy levels. They are also smaller and lighter, and provide an ultra-fast charge (enabled by our proprietary materials) without accelerating degradation. This is important for material handling equipment and warehouse robotics because Nyobolt’s solution maximizes uptime, extends cycle life, and enables in-process charging. This eliminates the need for mid-shift charging or battery swaps that can cause operational bottlenecks.
Q: We hear of explosions and fires occurring with some battery technologies. What do you do to ensure your products are safe?
A: We’ve developed unique materials that enable high thermal stability for our batteries. We maintain temperature control under rapid cycles, which translates to improved safety and thermal performance.
Our battery cells are tested to all the latest industry standards for thermal runaway, propagation, and physical abuse. Nyobolt’s customized power systems are similarly tested to standards required for each application, such as mobile robotics, material handling equipment, etc.
Nothing is more effective and satisfying than watching a test engineer drive a nail through our cells/packs and observing them safely maintain reasonable thermal operating ranges with mitigated risk of thermal runaway. It’s all of the performance with none of the fear factor.
Q: Are there other applications for your technology?
A: Yes, Nyobolt’s technology can also be utilized to reduce peak power demands in devices from stationary robotics to AI data centers. The same concept that allows fast charging also permits the battery to handle peak loads without increasing the size of the power system. In this way, the Nyobolt battery functions more like a super-capacitor but with a much larger energy reservoir.
What this means is that the stationary robot or AI data center can utilize a smaller power supply to handle larger needs. In robotics, this translates to smaller, lower-cost power supplies, and in data centers, it reduces the need for additional grid power.
