Factorial books $26,000, reaches 450 Wh/kg with aerospace cells

By Rebecca Stone

Factorial Energy booked about $26,000 in first commercial revenue in Q3 2026, ahead of a 2027 target, and said its lithium-metal aerospace cells had reached 450 Wh/kg.

Factorial won its first aerospace order in July and delivered cells under that agreement. The company began trading on Nasdaq in June after merging with blank-check company Cartesian Growth Corp. III, making Q3 its first full quarter as a public company.

The solid-state battery developer counts Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, Hyundai and Kia among its backers. Its commercial program now spans an aerospace sale, FEST B samples for Mercedes-Benz and an automotive concept, but production offtake with a mainstream automaker remains the next goal.

What does the 450 Wh/kg result establish?

Factorial said the 450 Wh/kg result met its year-end target for the aerospace program. The company compared it with cells that powered a Group I drone during a record flight of more than 8.5 hours at Edwards Air Force Base in July, putting the aerospace cells about 15% higher on its energy-density comparison.

For comparison, Factorial said its FEST B-sample cells, delivered to Mercedes-Benz, had shown more than 390 Wh/kg. The 450 Wh/kg claim applies to the aerospace program, not to the Mercedes-Benz sample, and neither disclosure provides an automotive production figure.

Why did the first revenue carry a $1.8 million charge?

Making the first cells cost $1.8 million, and almost all of that came from an inventory write-down. “At initial volumes, the cost of each cell is above its expected selling price,” Factorial said.

That distinction matters. The sale proves delivery against a customer order, but the $1.8 million charge shows that cell economics have not caught up with the promised commercial scale.

Factorial reported $14.6 million of quarterly operating expenses, including a $4.1 million legal judgment, and a $16.4 million operating loss. A $24.0 million non-cash gain on warrant liabilities converted that operating loss into $8.8 million of net income, so the quarter’s profit did not come from cell sales.

Factorial’s comparative figures showed:

• Q3 2025: revenue of $0, an operating loss of $27.5 million and a net loss of $34.6 million.
• Q2 2026: revenue of $0, no reported operating loss and a net loss of $11.3 million.
• Q3 2026: revenue of $0.03 million, the rounded table value corresponding to $26,000, an operating loss of $16.4 million and net income of $8.8 million.

Cash stood at $95.4 million at Sept. 30. Factorial cut its 2026 non-GAAP operating-expense outlook to $36 million–$38 million from about $40 million, and lowered capital spending to $10 million–$12 million from about $13 million.

The company attributed part of the spending reduction to equipment payments that may slip into early 2027. For revenue, Factorial expects “more meaningful commercial revenue in 2027 as production programs begin.” That is a management forecast, not booked business.

Can partners convert samples into scaled output?

During the quarter, Factorial signed a memorandum of understanding with SK On to evaluate producing its cells on SK On’s manufacturing lines. The document covers evaluation rather than committed production volume.

A separate joint-development agreement with sulfide solid-electrolyte supplier Mitsui Kinzoku covers Factorial’s all-solid-state Solstice platform. The disclosures did not provide a Solstice capacity figure, cell price or committed vehicle volume.

After quarter-end, Stellantis showed the Peugeot RCZ Vision concept car carrying a solid-state battery developed with Factorial. The company’s next automotive goal is a production offtake agreement with a mainstream automaker, which Factorial said would allow it to ramp toward volume production by the end of the decade.

The commercial sequence now runs from one $26,000 aerospace order to manufacturing evaluations, a materials-development partnership and a concept car. Factorial’s next test is whether volume production can bring per-cell costs below expected selling prices and turn the first sale into the meaningful revenue it expects in 2027; without an offtake agreement, the end-of-decade ramp remains a target rather than a committed schedule.