Forge Nano to deliver first battery cell samples this year
Forge Battery expects to ship thousands of cells to its current customers later this year, representing several GWh/year of confirmed offtake. Since the announcement of its large battery factory in North Carolina in November 2023, the company says it has received letters of intent to purchase a total of 24 GWh/year.
The ‘Gen. 1.1 Supercell’, the company’s first commercial product, has a confirmed energy density of 300 Wh/kg. It uses a cathode made of lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC 811) and a composite anode made of silicon oxide (SiOx)-graphite. The cell is expected to exceed the energy density targets of the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) with a cost reduction of 20 per cent per kWh.
While Volkswagen clearly wants to utilize this technology for vehicles, the developer says that the ‘Atomic Armor’ is not limited to road vehicles. Forge Nano names aviation, special electric vehicles and the defence sector as areas of application.
Commercial production of the ‘Supercells’ is expected to start at a newly constructed Gigafactory outside of Raleigh, North Carolina in 2026. Forge Battery’s cells intend to use a material supply chain comprised of materials produced in the United States, with 90 per cent of cell contents sourced from U.S entities, meaning that it will qualify for the US subsidies.
“Forge Battery has received huge interest from new customers to test our made-in-America Supercells for their high-performance market needs,” said Paul Lichty, CEO of Forge Nano. “We look forward to meeting our current customer’s sampling commitments, while building additional growth in new market segments, with the shipment of our A-Sample prototype cells. These cells achieve a leap in all-around Li-ion performance thanks to our Atomic Armor technology.”
Barbara Hughes, VP of Energy Storage at Forge Nano further explained: “With higher silicon content in the anode, a reduction in electrolyte and additives and the ability to cycle at higher voltages, the Forge Battery Supercell is poised to outcompete state-of-the-art Tier 1 suppliers globally and showcase U.S. battery innovation to the world.”
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