# Eric Januar

> Eric Januar is a co-founder and CEO of BANIQL, a Silicon Valley deep-tech startup reinventing how the world pulls nickel and cobalt out of the ground for electric-vehicle batteries. With 12 years in electronics, battery and semiconductor R&D - including a stint at Merck and a prior startup exit - he helped build BEST (the Baniql Extraction SysTem), a low-temperature, low-pressure process that the company says cuts electricity use by roughly 98 percent and reaches 99.7 percent nickel sulfate purity with net-zero toxic waste. BANIQL closed a US$1.6M seed round in 2024 and completed a 100 kg/month pre-pilot plant by year-end.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at BANIQL
- **Organizations:** BANIQL, Merck
- **Education:** University of California, Berkeley
- **Known for:** Co-founded BANIQL, a US-based green-nickel deep-tech startup, Helped develop BEST (Baniql Extraction SysTem) achieving 99.7% nickel sulfate purity with net-zero toxic waste, Closed a US$1.6M seed round (total funding reported around US$2.1M plus a 2.5 billion IDR grant)

## Career timeline

- **Earlier career** — 12 years of R&D across electronics, batteries and semiconductors, including a role at Merck and work spanning EV and advanced materials
- **Earlier career** — Achieved a successful exit at a previous startup
- **2022** — BANIQL files its first patent on the nickel/cobalt extraction process
- **2024** — Co-founded/led BANIQL; closed US$1.6M seed round led by BEENEXT (announced May 20, 2024); filed second patent
- **2024** — Completed construction of a 100 kg/month pre-pilot plant (Q4 2024) with trial production underway

## Achievements

- Co-founded BANIQL, a US-based green-nickel deep-tech startup
- Helped develop BEST (Baniql Extraction SysTem) achieving 99.7% nickel sulfate purity with net-zero toxic waste
- Closed a US$1.6M seed round (total funding reported around US$2.1M plus a 2.5 billion IDR grant)
- Built a 100 kg/month pre-pilot plant in 2024
- Secured a published US patent (USPTO, July 2023) plus additional patent pending

## Latest updates

- **2024-05** — BANIQL announced a closed US$1.6M seed round led by BEENEXT.
- **2024-12** — Completed a 100 kg/month pre-pilot plant with trial production underway.
- **2025-09** — Most recent reported fundraising activity (seed stage).

## Links

- Website: https://baniql.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-j-1bb67422/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/chibi_christ_89

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/eric-januar
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-24