NanoGraf closes multi-million dollar funding round
The US battery material start-up NanoGraf has closed a series B financing round of US$65 million. The money will be used to finance the planned production start of the in-house silicon anode material in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Previously, NanoGraf had already raised $27 million (€25 million) in Series A. Together with the nearly €60 million raised in Series B, the total funding to date is €85.8 million. The Series B financing was led by Volta Energy Technologies and CC Industries (CCI); the other new investors are mostly financial investors, not potential industrial partners. Existing investors Hyde Park Angels, Evergreen Climate Innovations and Goose Capital have also injected further money in the Series B round.
The Chicago-based startup says it has achieved an energy density of 810 Wh/l with its silicon anode material in a 18650 format battery cell and is funded by the US government to begin production of its battery material in Chicago from the fourth quarter of 2023. The plan is to produce 35 tonnes per year in the first phase, enough for 24 million battery cells. In 2024, the company wants to increase production to 1,000 tonnes per year.
The funding mentioned is not money from the funding programme for the development of a national battery supply chain: NanoGraf is not among the 20 projects that received a funding commitment in November 2022. Instead, the company announced at the time that it had received “a contract from the US government to develop the first large-volume production facility for silicon anodes in the US”. But it fits with the US government’s goal of supporting domestic production. NanoGraf had previously produced its silicon anode material in Japan, but later decided to relocate to the US.
The company says it is already working with more than 50 potential customers, “including some of the world’s leading consumer electronics, household appliance, and power tool brands”. From the electromobility sector, it says it already has twelve “strategic partners”, ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies.
“NanoGraf’s breakthrough silicon technology further exemplifies our commitment to extending the energy and power performance characteristics of today’s lithium-ion batteries for a sustainable electrified future. I’m incredibly proud of the technologies and products our team has developed over the last 36 months,” said Francis Wang, CEO of NanoGraf. “This funding not only ensures a domestic supply of a key strategic component of next generation lithium-ion batteries, but also enhances our national competitiveness in the global energy storage space.”
“Nanograf’s technology promises to enable higher energy density in lithium-ion batteries, in a way that uses silicon with what is practically drop-in to existing battery manufacturing processes,” said Jeff Chamberlain, CEO of Volta Energy Technologies. “We are equally enthused by the quality of the group of investors in this round of financing being announced today.”
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