LG Energy Solution acquires stake in Sion Power
The South Korean battery cell manufacturer is leading Sion Power’s 75 million dollar Series A financing round. It is not clear from the announcement what share LGES has secured. The exact amount of the LGES investment is also not stated. In addition to LGES, existing investors such as Euclidean Capital of mathematician Jim Simons and Hillspire LLC of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt have also participated in the Series A.
With this new capital, the battery developer aims to achieve technical and market validation of its lithium metal cells called Licerion and plans to build a fully automated production line to manufacture high-quality large-format cells for testing and market development by automotive OEMs and cell manufacturers.
Last year, Sion Power produced more than 18,000 samples of its Licerion cells developed in cooperation with BASF and delivered them to several electric car manufacturers for validation. These are multi-layer cells with a charging capacity of 6 to 20 Ah. In a further development, the company aims to achieve 56 Ah.
With its Licerion technology, Sion Power utilises an unspecified compression in a lithium metal battery to increase safety, service life and recharge rate. The company believes that any lithium metal system “will require compression to have a viable energy storage system.” Sion has “developed very robust intellectual property” around this concept.
“Every carmaker now has an EV strategy with billions being invested in the market,” says Tracy Kelley, CEO of Sion Power. “Our technology is appealing because Licerion directly addresses the anxiety that consumers feel about finding chargers by delivering up to twice the energy as conventional lithium-ion. The support from our investors is a testament to how mature our technology is and the value of our approach towards enabling lithium-metal cells.”
LG does not contribute to the press release with quotes from a named representative. Only a spokesperson is available for comment. “This investment is a strategic decision to solidify our leadership in the development of next-generation technologies in the battery industry,” says the LG Energy Solution spokesperson. “We aim to foster greater competitiveness and create new values by continuously investing in next-generation technologies and business areas.”
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