Mitsui Kinzoku SBI Material Innovation Fund, a joint venture between mining and smelting company Mitsui Kinzoku and financial services firm SBI, co-led an $18.5m round for US-based battery technology developer Advano on Tuesday.
The round was co-led by investment firms Future Shape and PeopleFund, and also featured Thiel Capital, DCVC and Y Combinator.
Founded in 2016, Advano has developed a silicon anode material known as A-SiFx that is designed to replace graphite in silicon batteries. It is made from silicon manufacturing waste and the company states it can improve the lifespan of rechargeable batteries.
A representative from Mitsui Kinzoku SBI Material Innovation Fund has taken an observer position on the company’s board of directors, and the corporate, already a significant supplier of battery materials, will help it with manufacturing and distribution.
Alexander Girau, chairman and CEO of Advano, said: “The greatest problem of our world is climate change, and Advano is helping to solve it by making energy more sustainable, cleaner, and cheaper through our silicon-based batteries.
“To fix the problem however, the solution must scale. From day one of Advano’s existence, scale has been the first criterion of every decision we have made.”
The company had received $500,000 from Fifty Years VC, Social Impact Capital and New Orleans Startup Fund in 2017, the same year it graduated from accelerator Y Combinator.
