15 Battery Startup Companies to Watch

The demand for electric technology, like electric vehicles and grid energy solutions, is on the rise in a bid to reduce carbon emissions, consequently leading to a growing battery market. Lithium-ion batteries dominate the present day’s rechargeable battery market.

Advancements in Battery Technology, And Obstacles!

Battery technology has come a long way, with different technologies enabling improved energy density, safety, lifetime, charging time, and reduced levelized cost of energy. The cost domain, especially, has improved vastly over the years, with battery cost declining by 97% in the past 30 years. 

However, the industry is mired with trade-offs, with improvement in one domain coming with compromises in another. 

When it comes to the good old lithium-ion batteries, their gravimetric and volumetric energy density can be, and in fact, has been, improved by the use of anode materials like silicon. Silicon anodes have an energy density of 4,200 mAh/g, which is 12 times that of the conventional graphite anode, with the latter’s energy density of 350 mAh/g, and also has an overall improvement in charging time.

However, graphite anodes remain in business because they absorb lithium ions better than silicon, which swells more than 300% due to ions’ absorption, causing expansion, leading to cracks and derailment in battery performance. 

“There is no surprise that people are seeking to improve the lithium-ion battery, and the anode is the place.”

Jeff Chamberlain, CEO, Volta Energy Technologies

Lithium metal anodes, which have the highest energy density, have also been used, and while they do not cause the expansion problem, they are not cost-effective and have other technical problems. In that regard, graphite anodes are also highly cost effective, especially given the fact that anodes make up 10-15% of the battery cost, as noted by Chloe Holzinger, an energy storage analyst with Lux Research.

However, the private sector is not giving up, and various techniques are being tried without significant trade-offs. For instance, most of the market in the industry is mixing graphite with small quantities of silicon suboxides, in order to get the best out of both. The solution, according to Chamberlain, is also the most realistic in battery innovation, rather than a 100% shift to silicon. 

That said, R&D for an effective increase in the energy density is still underway in many startups like Sila Technologies, Solid Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLDP) and SES AI Corporation (NYSE:SES). Solid Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLDP) has partnerships with companies like Ford and BMW to develop all-solid-state batteries. SES AI Corporation (NYSE:SES), on the other hand, is trying to preserve the advantages offered by lithium-metal anodes, without the drawbacks.

Innovation in the battery sector is strong, and analysts are optimistic on the more efficient solutions. Investment in the sector has also grown substantially, with $42 billion invested in the last five years alone by venture capital and growth equity firms.

Industry Outlook: 2030

The global battery market is valued at $104 billion as of 2022, and is projected to grow at a solid CAGR of 16% from 2023 to 2030, according to Grand View Research. 

It will be driven, in part, due to US and EU policies incentivizing electric vehicles, as well as the demand for consumer electronics, which although on the rise, is losing momentum.

The Lithium-ion sub industry has the lion’s share in the global battery market, at 40.77%, while the market for Lithium-titanate-oxide batteries is the fastest-growing in the sector, due to its advantage of charging quicker than most other types of batteries. 

The automobile sector has the biggest share in the battery market, at 32% in 2022, followed by the electronics sector. As far as regional insights go, Asia Pacific holds the biggest share of the market as of 2022, at 56%, with North America being the second largest market. 

Some of the most advanced countries in battery technology include the United States, Japan, South Korea and Germany. 

With that said, let’s now move on to 15 battery startup companies to watch.

Photo by Michael Fousert on Unsplash

Our Methodology 

We have defined ‘battery startup companies to watch’ as ones that have credible R&D, are working on innovative solutions, have huge investor interest and can scale their technologies. 

In this regard, we have picked consensus from Tracxn, GreyB, Energy Startups, and others, comprising companies working on novel battery technologies. We have then ranked them based on their funding, indicating investor-interest, their ability to finance their R&D and scale their technologies. We have sourced the data on their funding from CrunchBase. The information for the latest funding round comes from PitchBook.

Here are the 15 battery startup companies to watch.

15. Advano

Total Funding: $42.5 million

Like many battery startups, Advano is working on making silicon-based lithium-ion batteries scalable. In this regard, the company’s research teams alter silicon’s properties at the surface where it interacts with the electrolyte and lithium.

In addition to its technology, Advano has an advantage in sustainability as well. Its A-SiFx solution is developed from scrap material, using silicon waste from semiconductors and solar-panel manufacturing. Some of the prominent investors in the startup include Y Combinator and AAF Management Ltd.

14. Ion Storage Systems

Total Funding: $52.5 million

Ion Storage Systems is based in Maryland, US. The company’s unique assembly approach allows it to use ceramic electrolyte as a separator in its batteries, making them inflammable. 

The architecture is also cathode-agnostic, and the company uses lithium metal anodes for its batteries to get the maximum energy density. 

Ion Storage Systems raised $30 million in Series-A funding in June, 2022, with 13 investors pouring capital in the company, and prominent of them being Toyota Ventures, Clear Creek Investments and Tenaska Energy.

13. NanoGraf

Total Funding: $89.5 million

NanoGraf is a Chicago-based startup founded in 2012. It has developed a novel Silicon-based anode material that has demonstrated potential to replace the conventional graphite anodes in lithium-ion batteries. 

The company’s ‘wet chemistry’ manufacturing process has also shown promise to be more cost-effective than vapor-deposition-based processes, as demonstrated in its multi-ton scale pilot manufacturing line in Japan. NanoGraf has secured $65 million in the later stage Series-B funding, which concluded on February 14, 2023.

12. Nanotech Energy

Total Funding: $95 million

Nanotech Energy is developing graphene-based batteries, and in this regard, it is one of the few companies developing non-flammable batteries that are also cost-effective, making it one of the top battery startup companies to watch. Among the company’s top investors include Multiverse Investment Fund and Fubon Financial Group.

11. Morrow Batteries

Total Funding: $106 million

Morrow Batteries is a Norwegian company that intends to commercialize a new generation of batteries based on the high-voltage material LNMO, by the middle of the decade. The company claims that its solution is more sustainable because it uses cheap manganese as a scaffold. 

In an investment round led by Siemens Financial Services and ABB Ltd., the startup raised $106 million in May, 2022, and intends to utilize the proceeds to develop the first phase of its factory in Arendal, Norway.

10. Wildcat Discovery Technologies

Total Funding: $160 million

Wildcat Discovery Technologies is based in San Diego, California, US, and was founded in 2006. The company claims to synthesize thousands of materials every week, using high-throughput-synthesis processes, in its search for the ideal battery materials that increase efficiency and reduce cost. 

In this regard, Wildcat Discovery Technologies is aiming to achieve cobalt and nickel-free solutions with 500Wh/Kg in gravimetric dentistry and 1200Wh/l in volumetric density.

The most recent funding round for the company came in July, 2022, with Wildcat Discovery Technologies securing $90 million.

9. StoreDot

Total Funding: $190.5 million

StoreDot is based in Herzliya, Israel. The company is developing EV battery technology for faster charging. In this regard, StoreDot claims its 300Wh/Kg silicon-based battery cells, that would deliver 100 miles with a five-minute charge, would be production-ready by 2024. The company has 42 investors as of 2023, including Volvo Cars Tech Fund and Ola Electric.

8. Factorial Energy

Total Funding: $240 million

Factorial Energy is based in Massachusetts, US. The company focuses on solid-state battery technology, and has developed the world’s first scaled solid-state cell of 40Ah. 

Mercedes Benz has partnered with Factorial Energy in a bid to transition to fully electric cars. Factorial Energy has developed solid-state batteries that offer 50% longer range per charge and Mercedes Benz has signaled to integrate the technology into a few of its cars over the next five years. Stellantis is another investor in Factorial Energy, apart from Mercedes Benz.

7. Amprius Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AMPX)

Total Funding: $305 million

Amprius Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AMPX) claims that its approach of shell encapsulation of silicon nanowires overcomes the problems associated with silicon anodes. In this regard, Amprius Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:APMX) makes anodes that comprise only silicon, and not graphite. 

The batteries were successfully tested by Airbus in their lithium-ion batteries. As of Q4, 2022, 9 hedge funds hold shares in Amprius Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AMPX).

Apart from Amprius Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AMPX), other startups in the battery space that have gone public include Solid Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLDP) and SES AI Corporation (NYSE:SES).

6. Nexeon

Total Funding: $331 million

Nexeon has been developing two anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, namely, NSP-1 and NSP-2. NSP-1 tries to tackle the “low” energy density of graphite and expansion problem for silicon using 10% powdered silicon loading by weight in graphite anodes. 

This approach promises a 15% gain in energy density. The NSP-2 seeks to increase energy density by 30%, by going beyond 10% silicon loading by weight in graphite anodes. 

Nexeon was founded in 2006, and the company has raised $331 million so far, over 11 financing rounds, as per Pitchbook. Some of the prominent investors in the startup include GLy Capital Management and Advanced Propulsion Center, UK.

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Disclosure: none. 15 Battery Startup Companies to Watch is originally published on Insider Monkey.