Electric vehicle drivers and smartphone power users have been salivating over the prospect of silicon anode batteries, which promise to dramatically boost energy density and lower charging times.
Several companies have been working on silicon anodes over the last decade or so, and the tech has started creeping into consumer electronics. Wearable maker Whoop, for example, uses materials from Sila, while Group14‘s batteries can be found in a range of smartphones.
But the real prize is the EV market, which dwarfs consumer electronics by an order of magnitude, according to Benchmark Minerals. To break into this space, however, startups need to produce silicon anode material in far larger quantities than they have been so far.
To hit that scale, Group14 on Thursday said it had started production at its BAM-3 factory in South Korea. The facility is capable of producing up 2,000 metric tons of silicon battery materials annually, enough for 10 gigawatt-hours of energy storage, or about 100,000 long-range EVs.
“It’s a big deal for us, and I think it’s a big deal for the industry, too,” Rick Luebbe, co-founder and CEO of Group14, told TechCrunch.
The BAM-3 facility broke ground as a joint venture between Group14 and SK, the Korean battery manufacturer. SK owned 75% of the project, but sold its stake to Group14 last summer.
“SK has had their own challenges — financial and reprioritizing their battery and battery materials strategies all at the same time,” Luebbe said. “It did open up a great opportunity for us to acquire it from SK.”
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The startup has been working with a number of companies, including Porsche’s battery division Cellforce Group, StoreDot, Molicel, and Sionic. Porsche has also invested in Group14 through its venture arm.
Most modern batteries use carbon as the anode material. It works well enough, but scientists have long known that silicon, which can store up to 10 times more lithium ions, would be better for energy storage if they could only solve some vexing durability problems: Pure silicon anodes are prone to swelling and crumbling in short order, making them unsuitable for repeated charging cycles over several years.
Group14’s answer is a hard carbon scaffold that holds minuscule silicon particles in place, preventing the anode from swelling or crumbling. That scaffold is shot through with nanoscale holes that allow the lithium ions and electrons to pass through. It also helps the anode charge quickly without breaking down.
Some of Group14’s customers, like Sionic, are using silicon anodes to boost energy density by up to 50%. Others, like Molicel, are focused on utilizing silicon’s fast-charging capabilities, including a design that can take a battery from flat to full in just 90 seconds.
That sort of application of silicon anodes could upend the EV market. Chinese EV maker BYD is already aiming to build that sort of capability: it last week revealed a new battery pack that can “flash” charge from 10% to 70% in five minutes. (Luebbe is convinced BYD is using silicon-carbon in its new battery. “It has to be,” he said.)
If charging networks can accommodate such an EV, range anxiety would be a thing of the past. Today, automakers have been striving to deliver 300 miles to 400 miles of range mostly to alleviate consumer concerns, but hitting those numbers requires large batteries that add bulk, heft, and cost. Flash charging that can deliver meaningful range in seconds could allow carmakers to slim down battery packs, saving cost and weight.
“I’ve got a Rivian with a 130 kilowatt-hour battery in it, which is ungodly expensive,” Luebbe said. But with flash charging, concepts like inductive charging at stoplights — which might seem outlandish today — start becoming more feasible, he said. “You’d never think about charging ever again.”
