Zio Robot Co., Ltd. last week announced it will use high-energy lithium-ion battery cells from NEO Battery Materials Ltd. in its Mobile Worker (MW) autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). The company said NEO optimized the cells for the MW-series.
With the change, Zio is switching away from Chinese-manufactured batteries, which it currently uses in its AMRs. Zio said the change will improve energy density and high-rate discharge capability.
“Zio is pleased to initiate this battery development and optimization project. We anticipate that NEO’s high-performance batteries will provide MW robots with a competitive edge in logistics,” Dr. Tae Hun Kang, CEO of Zio, said. “This partnership also presents an opportunity for Zio to develop higher-load MW models that exceed our current maximum payload capabilities. By diversifying battery procurement away from Chinese suppliers to NEO, we expect to expand beyond our current serviceable markets and applications.”
Zio is a South Korean AMR provider that takes a human-robot interaction (HRI)-led development approach. Founded in 2022, the company specializes in AMR-based logistics robotics for various environments, including hospitals, industrial warehouses, and manufacturing facilities.
NEO Battery Materials is a Canadian battery technology company. It focuses on developing and producing silicon-enhanced lithium-ion batteries in drones, unmanned aerial vehicles, robotics, unmanned systems, electronics, electric vehicles, and energy storage systems for AI data centers.
NEO batteries to increase payload, extend uptime
Zio said that with the new batteries, it expects its AMRs to have an increased payload and extended operational uptime. Zio’s MW platform handles payloads of up to 6,000 kilograms. This places significant demands on battery capacity, discharge/power rates, and cycle life.
Both NEO and Zio will prototype and deliver integrated battery solutions to Zio’s anchor collaborators. This includes Samsung Electronics, where the company deployed MW systems for industrial and manufacturing logistics.
Zio claimed its modular architecture enables multiple MW units to link and unlink based on site requirements. This feature can reduce initial deployment costs while supporting flexible customization across targeted industries. The platform combines AMR systems with intelligent control algorithms and an omnidirectional driving system to further widen mission capabilities and enhance HRI.
“Zio’s logistics robots face the same battery constraints as drone platforms: runtime and payload capacity are directly limited by cell-level performance. Following the successful live field demonstration of our NBM Drone Cell, this partnership extends NEO’s proven approach into another high-growth vertical in physical AI. Western and Western-allied robotics and industrial automation sectors are actively seeking non-Chinese, application-specific battery solutions, and NEO is well-positioned to fulfill and deliver this demand,” Spencer Huh, President & CEO of NEO, said.