Automotive manufacturers BMW and Ford Motor Company co-led a $130m series B round for Us-headquartered solid-state battery provider Solid Power with venture capital firm Volta Energy Technologies on Monday.
Solid Power has developed rechargeable 20 ampere hour solid-state batteries for use in electric vehicles. It claims they are safer than conventional lithium-ion batteries while producing 50% to 100% more energy density.
The company’s technology is intended to be customisable for each customer, and it will supply full-scale battery cells for BMW and Ford so they can be tested and ultimately integrated into the companies’ vehicles by 2022. It was spun out of University of Colorado Boulder.
Ted Miller, manager of electrification subsystems and power supply research for Ford, said: “Solid-state battery technology is important to the future of electric vehicles, and that is why we are investing directly.
“By simplifying the design of solid-state versus lithium-ion batteries, we will be able to increase vehicle range, improve interior space and cargo volume, deliver lower costs and better value for customers and more efficiently integrate this kind of solid-state battery cell technology into existing lithium-ion cell production processes.”
The latest round comes after Solid Power closed its series A round at $26m in October 2020, according to a regulatory filing, Ford having supplied an undisclosed amount for the round 18 months earlier.
Battery producer A123 Systems and automotive component producer Sanoh had joined Hyundai Cradle, Samsung Venture Investment and Solvay Ventures – on behalf of carmaker Hyundai, electronics manufacturer Samsung and chemical producer Solvay respectively – in the round’s 2018 first tranche.
