US-based start-up Forge Nano has received a US$10 million investment from German car maker Volkswagen— funds the company will use to continue investigating and developing “a material coating technology that could further improve the performance of battery materials”.
Forge Nano has been investigating processes for scaling atomic layer deposition— “a chemical process for applying atomic scale coatings one atom at a time”— to create new core-shell materials, particularly for battery applications, with the aim of boosting the energy density of electric vehicle battery cells.
Forge Nano founder and CEO Dr Paul Lichty (pictured) said the company’s “atomically precise surface engineering technology is ushering in a new era of high performance materials”.
Head of VW Group research Dr Axel Heinrich said: “We need to safeguard our technological competence for the future. “Cooperation with start-ups is a key element in these efforts. We are acting as a partner to Forge Nano and intend to provide the team with opportunities to carry out industrial trials with its innovative technology.”
VW and Forge Nano have been collaborating since 2014, one year after the Colorado-headquartered start-up’s inception. In 2017, Forge Nano commissioned a 300-ton per annum production plant for its coating technology.