Keita Ishii, President & COO of ITOCHU Corp.

Asia Tech Wire (Oct 21) -- A U.S. startup company backed by Japan's Itochu Corp. has developed technology that prevents EV batteries from catching fire.

The technology prevents short circuits, which can lead to fires, from occurring by performing special processing on the core components of the battery.

24M Technologies (24M), a startup originating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has developed the technology in conjunction with a major Japanese raw materials company, with the aim of putting the technology into practical use by 2026.

24M said it will provide the technology to its partners, including battery companies in Europe and China, for use in pure electric vehicles.

Founded in 2010, 24M announced last month that it had closed an $87 million Series H funding round, bringing its valuation to $1.3 billion.

In addition to Itochu, 24M's investors include Kyocera, Fuji Film and German automaker Volkswagen.