Ex-Tesla Engineer Building Silicon Anode Plant As U.S. Amps Up EV Battery Production

A battery materials startup backed by Mercedes-Benz is building a large-scale factory in Washington state to make battery anodes that use Silicon instead of Graphene, which the company says will make electric vehicle battery packs.

The company, led by CEO Gene Berdichevsky, is converting a 650,000-square-foot industrial building into a high-tech factory that will produce enough anode materials for batteries in up to half a million electric. The plant will be able to produce enough anodes for millions of electric vehicles over time. Washington's hydroelectric grid will provide zero-carbon power for the facility.

The full build-out will be over $1 billion, according to Berdichevsky. Daimler and BMW will be the first to use the company's materials in high-end electric models.

He said that they were pushing for higher energy density, estimating that Sila's anodes provide up to a 20% improvement in energy efficiency to the best current battery packs. They can enable faster charging or hold down pack costs by reducing the number of cells needed to go the same distance. It is cheaper to make a lighter vehicle.

Sila's news comes a day after the U.S. Energy Department said it would give $3.1 billion in federal funds to boost domestic production of advanced batteries and materials for electric cars and trucks. Expansion of U.S. production of vehicles and batteries will help the Biden Administration meet its goal of half of all U.S. auto sales being electric by 2030. Sila will likely apply for federal funds if it meets the requirements of the DOE.

The company is ramping up production at its new plant in Austin, Texas, as well as at its massive factory in Nevada, where it makes the majority of its EV batteries. General GM, Ford, Volkswagen, and other companies have announced plans for new battery plants, while cell suppliers like Panasonic and SAMSUNG are increasing U.S. production.

President Biden's historic investment in battery production and recycling will give our domestic supply chain the boost it needs to become more secure and less reliant on other nations.

In 2004, Berdichevsky was hired as the principal battery engineer for the first attempt at an electric car by the company. He was more interested in finding new ways to make the batteries cheaper and more efficient when it came out. Over the past decade, he has raised $925 million for Sila to develop its technology and fund the first phase of the Washington plant.

A battery's four main elements are anodes, cathode, separator material and electrolyte. The active material is coated with a substance that allows electric current to flow through the external circuit and also allows the absorption of lithium ion from the cathode. Most anode materials for cells are from Asia.

This plant would be the first kind of world-scale plant for us. He said that they would use it as a template and replicate it around the world.

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is one of the investors in Sila.