Sila Nanotechnologies, a maker of battery materials, announced that it raised $590 million in Series F funding at a $3.3 billion post-money valuation. The new funding comes as the first Sila Nano-powered batteries prepare to ship in consumer devices and the company scales up production. 

Sila Nano will use the funds to develop a new 100 GWh North American plant to produce its silicon-based anode material for smartphone and automotive customers. The company, which currently has partnerships with BMW, Daimler and ATL, aims to start production at the new plant in 2024, and be powering EVs by 2025. 

“It took eight years and 35,000 iterations to create a new battery chemistry, but that was just step one,” said CEO Gene Berdichevsky. “For any new technology to make an impact in the real world, it has to scale, which will cost billions of dollars. We know from our experience building our production lines in Alameda that investing in our next plant today will keep us on track to be powering cars and hundreds of millions of consumer devices by 2025.”

Sila Nano’s material was designed as a drop-in replacement for graphite in existing lithium-ion factories, enabling battery makers to improve the energy density of their products without needing to change the manufacturing process or equipment.

Source: Sila Nanotechnologies