July 9, 2008 — Arrowhead Research Corporation has formed Agonn Systems Corporation to explore, develop and commercialize nanotechnology-based energy storage devices for electric vehicles and other large format applications. Agonn has initiated a strategy to acquire energy storage technologies based on nanoscale engineering from research institutions and expects to begin prototyping ultracapacitors based on carbon nanotubes and other advanced materials this year. The formation of Agonn Systems is part of a strategy at Arrowhead to leverage nanotechnology for clean energy applications.
“We implemented a similar roll up of intellectual property, device design, and manufacturing capability to build our majority-owned subsidiary Unidym into a leader in the application of carbon nanotubes for electronics,” says Arrowhead CEO Chris Anzalone. “We intend to replicate this strategy in the field of nanotech-based energy storage devices.”
Arrowhead has established for Agonn a team of scientific advisors pioneering nanotechnology-based energy storage, including:

• Alan Gotcher, Ph.D., former CEO, Altair Nanotechnologies Inc, and former Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President, Manufacturing at Avery Dennison.
• Joel Schindall, Ph.D., the Bernard Gordon Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Associate Director of the Laboratory for Electromagnetic and Electronic Systems (LEES) at MIT
• Jud Ready, Ph.D., Senior Research Engineer and Adjunct Professor, Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI)
• Satish Kumar, Ph.D., Professor of Textile and Fiber Engineering at Georgia Tech
• Prashant N. Kumta, Ph.D., Edward R. Weidlein Chair Professor at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering