Gabe Elias Is Printing Batteries That Fill Up Empty Space Like Water

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Gabe Elias Is Printing Batteries That Fill Up Empty Space Like Water

The former F1 engineer talks breaking into racing, planning an engineering career, and how 3D-printed batteries will make voids a thing of the past. Ep. 13

Apr 07, 2025

Transcript

🎙️ Gabe Elias, CEO of Material, joins Tool or Die to discuss his journey from Honda engineer to Formula One designer to battery manufacturing innovator. We explore how Gabe's determination to work in F1 led him to quit his stable job at Honda, move to England, and eventually land a position at Mercedes F1, where he contributed to seven world championships. Now, Gabe's startup is revolutionizing battery manufacturing with 3D printing technology that allows for custom-shaped batteries that could transform everything from consumer electronics to electric vehicles.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Introduction
00:15 Gabe's journey to Honda and F1 aspirations
08:30 Moving to England and Oxford Brookes University
14:00 Landing a job at Mercedes F1
19:40 Formula One engineering experience
22:30 Crossover between F1 and mass market manufacturing
26:50 Leaving F1 for Rivian
29:20 Tesla's innovations in EV manufacturing
32:20 Founding Material and 3D printed batteries
39:40 Material's business model and future plans

Key Topics:

How Gabe strategically targeted Honda hoping for a path to F1
Quitting his job and telling his manager he'd be an F1 engineer within a year
The rigorous technical interview process at Mercedes
Why F1 engineering knowledge has limited crossover to mass manufacturing
How Tesla's zonal architecture is revolutionizing EV production costs
Material's ability to create custom-shaped batteries for any device
The chemistry-agnostic approach to battery manufacturing at Material
How 3D printed batteries could extend the range of EVs and runtime of devices

TOOL OR DIE is produced by Johnson & Roy (Johnson-Roy.com), a strategic advisory firm specializing in technology, mobility, manufacturing, and robotics. Your hosts are Joel Johnson, a former technology journalist and media executive who pioneered brands like Gizmodo, Jalopnik, and Wirecutter, and Alex Roy, a General Partner at New Industry Venture Capital (NIVC.us) known for breaking the Cannonball Run record and his work in autonomous vehicles.