~ Real-time on the satellite. Analytics across the fleet. Same brain. New frontier. ~
MILANO and BOSTON, May 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — D-Orbit, a global leader in space logistics and orbital transportation services, and ELECTRA AI, the AI Brain for Batteries™ platform, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to extend ELECTRA AI’s battery intelligence platform into space, combining real-time onboard intelligence on D-Orbit’s satellites with fleet-wide analytics across the broader constellation.
The AI Brain for Batteries™ platform, will go in orbit!
In space, the battery is the mission.
A satellite has no roadside assistance. There is no warranty visit, no swap-out, no second chance. The battery onboard does not just power the spacecraft, it also determines how long the mission lasts, how confidently the platform can dispatch power to communications, actuators, and payloads, and how much of the original mission profile can actually be executed.
In that environment, intelligence is not a feature. It is survival.
Under the MoU, the two companies will collaborate across two complementary fronts. The first brings Electra’s Embedded Solution – 360 Adaptive Controls – Embedded SoXE onboard the satellite, delivering continuously self-learning estimations of state of charge and state of power directly on the onboard hardware, in real time, with sub-1% accuracy. The second brings D-Orbit’s operational telematics into ELECTRA AI’s Cloud Solution – Battery Fleet Analytics platform, a unified intelligence layer where every battery, on every satellite, contributes to the understanding of every other one.
The result is a battery system that is no longer just monitored. It is understood.
Fabrizio Martini, CEO and Co-Founder, ELECTRA AI:
“There is no harder environment for a battery than space, and few companies globally in Europe understand operating in space better than D-Orbit. This is exactly the kind of partnership the AI Brain for Batteries™ was built for: a real fleet, real operational data, real mission-critical stakes — and a partner with the engineering maturity to turn intelligence into mission outcomes. Wherever there is a battery, there is the ELECTRA AI BRAIN. Now, that includes batteries in orbit.”
Luca Rossettini, CEO, D-Orbit:
“In space, the battery is not a component — it is the boundary condition of the mission. D-Orbit has spent over a decade building one of the most operationally mature platforms in the in-orbit economy, and we have accumulated years of telemetry from real assets, in real conditions, doing real work. Bringing ELECTRA AI’s intelligence onboard our satellites turns that operational history into a forward-looking advantage — at the asset, and across every mission we fly. This is the kind of collaboration the next generation of space requires.”
A vertical that does not allow for second tries.
Space is the proving ground that other industries will eventually have to meet. The reliability requirements are the highest. The cost of failure is the most absolute. And once an asset is in orbit, telematics is the only feedback loop available, there is no service center, no recall, no field engineer.
By embedding the ELECTRA AI BRAIN on their satellites, D-Orbit is building a layer of intelligence that is difficult to replicate: real-time autonomy on the asset, continuously improving understanding across the constellation. Same brain. Different verticals. Same operating system for the energy transition.
From the factory floor to low Earth orbit.
ELECTRA AI’s mission has always been to make batteries smarter wherever they are deployed. From electric vehicles, to grid-scale energy storage, to humanoid robotics and now to the satellites that connect, observe, and serve the planet from above.
The era of dumb batteries is over. Even in orbit.
A defining moment. In public.
This MoU arrives at a pivotal inflection in ELECTRA AI’s company story. Following the previously announced Business Combination Agreement with Iron Horse Acquisition II Corp. (Nasdaq: IRHO), ELECTRA AI is on track to become the world’s first publicly traded pure-play AI Battery Intelligence company upon Nasdaq listing in the second half of 2026 (new ticker once completed: AIBR). The collaboration with D-Orbit extends the company’s commercial footprint into space, completing a presence across all four of the most consequential battery-powered verticals: energy infrastructure, e-mobility, autonomous systems on the ground, and now autonomous systems in orbit.
About ELECTRA AI
ELECTRA AI is the leading AI-driven cleantech and B2B software company, accelerating the world’s transition to electrification by unlocking the full potential of battery technology. ELECTRA AI builds the AI Brain for Batteries™ platform, a unified intelligence layer that enables battery systems to be monitored, optimized, and controlled across their full lifecycle. By combining Agentic AI, Physical AI, Physics-informed Battery Modeling with Large Quantitative Models (LQMs), ELECTRA AI transforms batteries from passive hardware into intelligent, adaptive, and increasingly autonomous assets.
ELECTRA AI powers battery intelligence across every major battery-powered sector, including Energy Infrastructure (BESS for grid, renewables, and data centers), autonomous systems (robotics, humanoid, space assets), and e-mobility, helping make electrification safer, more resilient, and more economically productive. ELECTRA AI was co-founded in 2015 by Fabrizio Martini, inspired by work conducted as a Principal Investigator on NASA projects.
About D-ORBIT
D-Orbit develops space logistics systems for orbital transportation, hosted payload operations, and in-orbit data processing. Its ION Satellite Carrier is an orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) used for satellite deployment and hosted payload operations; since 2020 it has flown 22 missions and carried 210+ payloads, including hosted payloads and satellites deployed in orbit. The company also provides space cloud services based on onboard computing for in-orbit data processing and is developing GEA, a servicing spacecraft intended to support autonomous rendezvous, inspection, and refueling, as well as NOX, a synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) Earth observation satellite.
About Iron Horse Acquisition II Corp.
Iron Horse Acquisition II Corp. (Nasdaq: IRHO) (http://www.ironhorseacquisition.com) is a special purpose acquisition company co-founded by CEO and Chairman Jose Antonio Bengochea and CFO Bill Caragol. Iron Horse completed its initial public offering in December 2025, raising gross proceeds of approximately $230 million. Iron Horse was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses, with a particular focus on companies in the AI, media, and technology sectors.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release may be considered “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or Iron Horse’s or Electra AI’s future financial or operating performance. For example, statements regarding the anticipated timing of closing, expectations regarding the combined company’s business, and potential benefits of the transaction are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “will,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “predict,” “potential,” or “continue,” or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Iron Horse and Electra AI and their respective management teams, are inherently uncertain. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: (i) the occurrence of any event, change, or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the BCA; (ii) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Iron Horse, Electra AI, the combined company, or others following the announcement of the transaction; (iii) the inability to complete the transaction due to the failure to obtain approval of the stockholders of Iron Horse or to satisfy other conditions to closing; (iv) changes to the proposed structure of the transaction that may be required or appropriate as a result of applicable laws or regulations or as a condition to obtaining regulatory approval of the transaction; (v) the ability to meet Nasdaq’s continued listing standards following the consummation of the transaction; (vi) the risk that the transaction disrupts current plans and operations of Electra AI as a result of the announcement and consummation of the transaction; (vii) the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the transaction, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, the ability of the combined company to grow and manage growth profitably, maintain relationships with customers and suppliers and retain its management and key employees; (viii) costs related to the transaction; (ix) changes in applicable laws or regulations; and (x) the possibility that Electra AI or the combined company may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors. Nothing in this press release should be regarded as a representation by any person that the forward-looking statements set forth herein will be achieved or that any of the contemplated results of such forward-looking statements will be achieved. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Neither Iron Horse nor Electra AI undertakes any duty to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
No Offer or Solicitation
This press release does not constitute a solicitation of a proxy, consent, or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the proposed transaction, and shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. No offering of securities will be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or an exemption therefrom.
Additional Information about the Business Combination and Where to Find It
In connection with the proposed business combination, Iron Horse and Electra Vehicles, Inc. (“Electra AI”) have filed a registration statement on Form S-4 (the “Registration Statement”) with the SEC, which includes a proxy statement/prospectus, and certain other related documents, to be used at the meeting of stockholders to approve the proposed business combination. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF IRON HORSE ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS, ANY AMENDMENTS THERETO, THE UPDATED INVESTOR PRESENTATION, AND OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT ELECTRA AI, IRON HORSE, AND THE BUSINESS COMBINATION. The definitive proxy statement will be mailed to shareholders of Iron Horse as of a record date to be established for voting on the proposed business combination and other proposals. Investors and security holders will also be able to obtain copies of the Registration Statement and other documents containing important information about each of the companies once such documents are filed with the SEC, without charge, at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov, or by directing a request to: Loeb & Loeb LLP.
Participants in the Solicitation
Iron Horse, Electra AI, and their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Iron Horse’s stockholders in connection with the proposed business combination. A list of the names of such directors and executive officers and information regarding their interests in the proposed business combination will be contained in the Registration Statement when available.
Media Contact
Giovanni Rossi
Head of Marketing and Communications, ELECTRA AI
grossi@electrabrain.ai
Investor Relations for ELECTRA AI: ELECTRA@mzgroup.usÂ
