24M supplies large automotive OEM with Li-metal cells
The US developer is a provider of cell manufacturing platforms and earns its money primarily by granting licences for its ‘SemiSolid’ technology. The company emerged from the battery manufacturer A123 in 2010 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Volkswagen acquired a 25 per cent stake in 24M at the beginning of 2022. Now, for the first time, a major automotive OEM is to access the developer’s cells – albeit not for units with a ‘semi-solid’ electrolyte, but with a liquid electrolyte. It remains unclear who this is, but Volkswagen would be a logical choice.
Naoki Ota, CEO and President of 24M Technologies, describes the delivery in general terms as an important first step “in restoring consumer confidence that a safer, longer-lasting, and more efficient battery is obtainable.” Ota refers to his company’s focus on ensuring particularly safe batteries.
The core innovations presented by 24M in recent months include a binder-free SemiSolid electrode, a new liquid electrolyte for lithium metal batteries, a direct recycling process, a new type of battery separator and a battery system called ETOP, which stands for ‘Electrode-to-Pack’. In other words, the electrodes in this system are to be integrated directly into the battery pack.
According to 24M, the lithium-metal battery cells in the now publicised delivery to the unnamed car manufacturer have the aforementioned innovative separator and liquid electrolytes. The US company does not go into any more detail. Naoki Ota emphasises that “growing concerns around battery fire safety must be addressed to ensure widespread adoption of EVs and a more sustainable energy future.”
Meanwhile, 24M has a large capital requirement to bring its development approaches to commercial application. As the company announced last month, it recently succeeded in closing another financing round (‘Series H’) totalling 87 million US dollars. The majority of this sum is attributable to a transaction with Nuovo+. The company acts not only as an investor and strategic partner of 24M, but also as a licence holder.
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