With sales of its first electric vehicle surpassing the traditional 911 sports car, German carmaker Porsche is coping by increasing its bets on electric vehicles, in part through a huge investment in lithium silicon battery developer group14 technologies**
As part of the larger $400 million round C financing, Porsche injected $100 million into group14. Other investors who joined include Canadian pension fund omers, decentralization partners, private equity firms Riverstone, vsquared ventures and Moore strategic ventures.
The key technology of group14 is a silicon carbon powder, which can replace or enhance the graphite anode. Graphite is used in most lithium-ion batteries today. It is a reasonable anode because it is very stable and can store reasonable energy.
However, as carmakers pursue higher energy density, graphite is being pushed above its limit. Silicon is an attractive alternative because it can store more lithium - theoretically 10 times more. But the same benefits are also silicon's Achilles' heel. Because silicon absorbs so much lithium, molecular scale expansion and contraction will degrade the structure of the anode and lead to premature failure.
Group14 is one of many startups competing to develop silicon-based anodes that can be repeatedly charged and discharged without failure. To do this, the company injected silicon containing gas into porous carbon scaffolds. The end result is a carbon compound covered with nanoscale silicon particles. These particles are used to capture lithium ions, while the carbon scaffold acts as a stable structure so that the anode will not decompose during use.
Group14 said that its carbon silicon material can also be mixed with graphite anode, and can be put into the existing battery production line with only a little modification.
The startup says its scc55 material can store 50% more energy than traditional graphite anodes. At present, the company has a battery material factory in operation, and two factories are under construction -- one is a joint venture with SK group, which will be put into operation later this year; The other will start production in 2023. Group14 aims to produce Porsche battery packs in 2024.
For carmakers like Porsche, which is based on lightweight and high-performance sports cars, the prospect of smaller and more powerful batteries must be very attractive.
Promoting battery technology is the key to decarbonization of the automotive industry. According to Greenpeace, the greenhouse gas emissions of the automotive industry accounted for 9% of the world in 2018. However, this potentially favorable deal does not erase the dirty record of some investors in group14, several of whom are prolific supporters of fossil fuels.
For example, the joint venture between BlackRock and Temasek, decarbonization partners, has supported some companies focusing on sustainable development, such as mycoworks, a mushroom leather startup. However, BlackRock has recently promised to continue to invest in and support fossil fuel companies. The $97.3 billion investment giant has a tendency to talk on both sides. Omers' portfolio also includes some oil and gas companies, although the pension fund has promised to achieve net zero emissions of its investments by the distant year 2050.
For group14, the new deal represents a big step forward - almost 10 times. It is reported that before the financing, the start-up in woodingville, Washington, has received about $41.5 million in venture capital and government grants.