Group14 Technologies, a developer of materials that enhance the output of lithium-silicon batteries, has raised $400 million from a group led by Porsche AG, OMERS Capital Markets, Decarbonization Partners and other investors.
The money will enable Group14 to begin constructing its second plant in the U.S.
Materials supplied by the Woodinville, Washington-based company help boost lithium-silicon batteries by 50% from traditional lithium-ion batteries, which result in greater range between recharging of vehicles that use them.
More automakers are turning to lithium-silicon because it is compatible with existing manufacturing processes.
Porsche has been delivering unique and sustainable sports cars for more than 70 years.
In March, the German company, which is owned by Volkswagen AG, said it expects electric vehicles to account for 80% of its global sales by 2030. Porsche also plans to build its own charging network.
Porsche currently has only one EV in its lineup, the Taycan.
“Our investment in Group14 is an important step for Porsche,” said Lutz Meschke, deputy chairman of Porsche AG and member of the executive board. In a statement. “WE have been actively investing in ambitious companies since 2016 and through our venture capital unit.”
Over the last year, Group14 has launched a battery active materials factory in Woodinville, Wash., about 20 miles northeast of Seattle. It also broke ground SK Group on a joint venture factory in South Korea.
“Group14 is well-positioned to elevate all batteries by enabling the transformational performance of silicon in today’s lithium-ion and tomorrow’s solid-state applications,” said Rick Luebbe, Group14 co-founder and CEO.
One of its customers is Cellforce Group, a Porsche subsidiary, that plans to produce lithium-silicon battery cells in Germany beginning in 2024 to help power Porsche’s planned electric vehicles.
In November 2021, Group14 announced a partnership with StoreDot, a provider of extreme fast charging battery technology for electric cars.
StoreDot’s investors include BP, Dai
DAI
mler AG, TDK and Samsung. It has designed a battery cell based on a silicon-dominant anode that enables faster charging.
Porsche’s partnership with Group14 comes days after the Biden administration announced it will allocate more than $3 billion to assist electric vehicle battery manufacturing in the U.S. The funding will come from the Department of Energy and is part of the $1 trillion infrastructure bill President Biden signed in 2021.
Among the goals is to increase processing of minerals used in EV batteries and to make it easier to recycle those batteries. Biden wants half of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. to be battery-powered by 2030.
