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Key people at This Next Thing.
Key people at This Next Thing.
Next Thing Technologies is a research, development, and technology company specializing in sodium-ion batteries for energy storage, targeting homes, factories, data centers, AI facilities, and grid-scale applications.[2][4] It addresses the demand for safer, more affordable, and longer-lasting alternatives to lithium-ion batteries by leveraging abundant sodium materials, offering high energy density, wide temperature stability, excellent cycle life, and non-toxic composition to accelerate renewable energy adoption and grid resilience.[2][4] The company's flagship product, the Next Bolt battery, focuses on home backup power with innovative financing (as low as $100/month), while pursuing scalable solutions for commercial and utility use; however, it remains pre-revenue with no customers, relying on prototyping, fundraising, and future sales for survival in the projected $224 billion stationary energy storage market by 2030.[2][4]
Next Thing Technologies emerged as a startup focused on energy-resilient communities through sustainability and power decentralization, with its primary product—the Next Bolt battery—in development amid financing and prototyping efforts.[2] The company's backstory ties into broader "Next Thing" naming, distinct from the defunct Next Thing Co. (founded 2013 in Oakland, CA by Dave Rousset, Gustavo Huber, and Thomas Decker), which crowdfunded single-board computers like CHIP and Pocket C.H.I.P. but collapsed into insolvency by 2018 due to supply issues, unfulfilled orders, and asset liquidation.[3] Current leadership includes a CEO & President, an Energy Storage Engineer Advisor, and a growth executive with prior experience in media tech, publishing, and revenue scaling at firms like Globein.[2][4] Key pivots involve R&D completion, production ramp-up, distribution partnerships, and brand-building in energy storage, following a paid-off loan in 2022.[2]
Next Thing Technologies rides the sodium-ion battery trend as a lithium alternative amid supply chain vulnerabilities, rising renewable energy needs, and grid modernization pressures.[2][4] Timing aligns with market growth to $224B by 2030 and AI/data center power demands, where safer, cheaper storage enhances stability and decentralization.[2][4] Favorable forces include sodium's abundance (vs. scarce lithium), non-flammable profiles for high-density applications, and policy pushes for clean energy; it influences the ecosystem by enabling broader solar/wind adoption and community resilience, though success depends on outpacing incumbents in a cutthroat sector.[2]
Next Thing Technologies could disrupt energy storage if it delivers the Next Bolt, scaling from prototypes to sales via partnerships and financing innovation amid sodium-ion momentum.[2][4] Trends like AI energy surges, renewables mandates, and lithium shortages will propel it, potentially evolving from niche player to grid influencer—provided it secures funding, production, and customers to avoid the pitfalls of prior "Next Thing" ventures.[2][3][4] Watch for R&D milestones and first shipments to validate its high-stakes bet on safer power.
