The venture capital arm of Belgium-based battery materials firm Solvay has made an equity investment in US-headquartered next-generation solid-state batteries developer Solid Power.
Solvay Ventures’ move came after Solid Power announced it had generated US$20 million in a Series A investment round, which drew funding from companies including Samsung, Hyundai cradle, Sanoh, and A123 Systems.
The new funds will be used to scale-up the company’s production via a “multi-megawatt-hour roll-to-roll facility”. This is expected to be fully installed by the end of 2018 and become fully operational next year.
Solid Power CEO Doug Campbell said: “Solid-state batteries are a game changer for electric vehicles, electronics, defence, and medical device markets, and Solid Power’s technology is poised to revolutionise the industry.”
Solid Power has said previously its batteries feature proprietary inorganic materials and use non-volatile/non-flammable components that have a “higher energy density”.
In December 2017, Solid Power partnered with BMW to jointly develop next-generation solid-state battery technology for use in the German auto giant’s EVs.