Microsoft takes a punt on silicon battery startup
(2022/12/15)
- Reference: 1671132733
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/12/15/microsoft_silicon_battery/
- Source link:
Microsoft is one of the investors contributing to the latest funding round for Group14 Technologies, a company developing silicon battery technology for applications including electric vehicles.
According to Group14, it has successfully raised $214 million in additional financing from a consortium that includes Moore Strategic Ventures, Molicel, Lightrock Climate Impact Fund, Oman Investment Authority, and Microsoft's [1]Climate Innovation Fund . This brings the company's total Series C funding round to $614 million, it said.
The Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund was [2]announced in 2020 as part of what the Redmond giant termed a "bold new environmental sustainability strategy," and was set up to invest $1 billion into new carbon reduction and removal technologies over a four-year period.
[3]
"Batteries are becoming the backbone of the clean energy transition," said the director of Microsoft's Climate Innovation Fund, Brandon Middaugh. He claimed that Group14's technology has the potential to accelerate decarbonization of transportation, electronics, energy storage, and more.
Inventor of the graphite anode – key Li-ion battery tech – says he can now charge an electric car in 10 minutes [4]READ MORE
However, it isn't clear how much of the new funding is coming from Microsoft. In response to our query, the company said that the figure was not being disclosed at this time.
Group14's technology appears to revolve around silicon-based anodes that can be added to existing lithium-ion chemistry to create lithium-silicon batteries. The company claims that silicon has 10x the capacity of graphite, the material currently used for anodes in lithium-ion batteries.
[5]
[6]
Switching to lithium-silicon batteries would deliver a huge step change in performance for a tiny change in cost, Group14 argues in a [7]white paper on its website.
The Washington-based company said that it aims to build factories capable of producing commercial-scale quantities of its silicon battery technology around the globe to address what it claims is rapidly growing demand from battery makers and automotive manufacturers.
[8]Inventor of the graphite anode – key Li-ion battery tech – says he can now charge an electric car in 10 minutes
[9]EU lawmakers vote to ban sales of combustion engine cars from 2035
[10]Never mind the Saudis: Here's a new OPEC for EV battery metals
[11]Battery recycling boosted by dentist-style ultrasonics, if manufacturers can cooperate
"It comes down to shortening the path to market for OEMs so we can meet EV demand today," Group14 co-founder and CEO Rick Luebbe said in a statement. He reckons the industry is now at a crossroads for the future of electrified mobility.
Group14 said that its first factory opened at Woodinville, Washington in April last year with the capacity to produce 120 tons of its battery material each year.
[12]
The Series C funding, in conjunction with a $100 million grant from the Biden administration, will be used to build the company's second commercial-scale facility. It has also announced an additional factory as part of a joint venture in South Korea with SK Inc. ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/corporate-responsibility/sustainability/climate-innovation-fund
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2020/01/17/microsoft_carbon_removal/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y5unEN9I2wSO@pSgmoaZ2wAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/14/rachid_yazami_the_future_of_ev_batteries/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y5unEN9I2wSO@pSgmoaZ2wAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y5unEN9I2wSO@pSgmoaZ2wAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://group14.technology/en/whitepapers/transition-to-lithium-silicon-batteries
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/14/rachid_yazami_the_future_of_ev_batteries/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/10/european_union_votes_to_ban_gasoline_cars/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/31/car_battery_cartel_proposal/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/01/battery_recycling_ultrasonic_delamination/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y5unEN9I2wSO@pSgmoaZ2wAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
According to Group14, it has successfully raised $214 million in additional financing from a consortium that includes Moore Strategic Ventures, Molicel, Lightrock Climate Impact Fund, Oman Investment Authority, and Microsoft's [1]Climate Innovation Fund . This brings the company's total Series C funding round to $614 million, it said.
The Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund was [2]announced in 2020 as part of what the Redmond giant termed a "bold new environmental sustainability strategy," and was set up to invest $1 billion into new carbon reduction and removal technologies over a four-year period.
[3]
"Batteries are becoming the backbone of the clean energy transition," said the director of Microsoft's Climate Innovation Fund, Brandon Middaugh. He claimed that Group14's technology has the potential to accelerate decarbonization of transportation, electronics, energy storage, and more.
Inventor of the graphite anode – key Li-ion battery tech – says he can now charge an electric car in 10 minutes [4]READ MORE
However, it isn't clear how much of the new funding is coming from Microsoft. In response to our query, the company said that the figure was not being disclosed at this time.
Group14's technology appears to revolve around silicon-based anodes that can be added to existing lithium-ion chemistry to create lithium-silicon batteries. The company claims that silicon has 10x the capacity of graphite, the material currently used for anodes in lithium-ion batteries.
[5]
[6]
Switching to lithium-silicon batteries would deliver a huge step change in performance for a tiny change in cost, Group14 argues in a [7]white paper on its website.
The Washington-based company said that it aims to build factories capable of producing commercial-scale quantities of its silicon battery technology around the globe to address what it claims is rapidly growing demand from battery makers and automotive manufacturers.
[8]Inventor of the graphite anode – key Li-ion battery tech – says he can now charge an electric car in 10 minutes
[9]EU lawmakers vote to ban sales of combustion engine cars from 2035
[10]Never mind the Saudis: Here's a new OPEC for EV battery metals
[11]Battery recycling boosted by dentist-style ultrasonics, if manufacturers can cooperate
"It comes down to shortening the path to market for OEMs so we can meet EV demand today," Group14 co-founder and CEO Rick Luebbe said in a statement. He reckons the industry is now at a crossroads for the future of electrified mobility.
Group14 said that its first factory opened at Woodinville, Washington in April last year with the capacity to produce 120 tons of its battery material each year.
[12]
The Series C funding, in conjunction with a $100 million grant from the Biden administration, will be used to build the company's second commercial-scale facility. It has also announced an additional factory as part of a joint venture in South Korea with SK Inc. ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/corporate-responsibility/sustainability/climate-innovation-fund
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2020/01/17/microsoft_carbon_removal/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y5unEN9I2wSO@pSgmoaZ2wAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/14/rachid_yazami_the_future_of_ev_batteries/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y5unEN9I2wSO@pSgmoaZ2wAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y5unEN9I2wSO@pSgmoaZ2wAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://group14.technology/en/whitepapers/transition-to-lithium-silicon-batteries
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/14/rachid_yazami_the_future_of_ev_batteries/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/10/european_union_votes_to_ban_gasoline_cars/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/31/car_battery_cartel_proposal/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/01/battery_recycling_ultrasonic_delamination/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y5unEN9I2wSO@pSgmoaZ2wAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Anonymous Coward
Better get started then
Anonymous Coward
The thing is that the "ingredient X is 20x better" hype, glosses over the fact that all the other parts of the battery are still there, taking up just as much space and weight as before.
Actual batteries are 20% better.
(which is not to be sneezed at, I am awaiting some samples of all silicon batteries to arrive "real soon now")
Just need to build a crap ton of nuclear reactors to feed the electrical grid and all ends well.