Group14 Technologies, a Woodinville, Wash.-based battery producer, announced today that it raised $214 million from buyers that embody Microsoft’s Local weather Innovation Fund.
In Could, the corporate landed a $400 million funding as a part of the identical Collection C spherical, and it was awarded $100 million in federal funding in October. Group14 reviews that it’s valued at greater than $3 billion and has greater than 100 workers.
This yr’s string of investments have propelled Group14 into the Pacific Northwest’s cohort of tech heavy hitters seemingly in a single day. And its acceleration will possible proceed because the battery market is for certain to continue to grow, pushed by growing EV gross sales in addition to mandates within the federal Inflation Discount Act to spur home battery manufacturing.
EVs are anticipated to account for greater than half of passenger vehicles bought within the U.S. by 2030, based on BloombergNEF. Final yr they made up lower than 5% of American gross sales. The tempo of EV adoption will possible be even quicker in Washington state: This month state leaders plan to undertake EV gross sales targets that match California’s, which require all new light-duty car gross sales by 2035 to be zero-emission.
Group14 has developed a silicon-carbon composite materials that may change the graphite anodes in lithium-ion batteries, bettering their efficiency by 50% and offering quicker recharging instances, based on the corporate.
The corporate’s $100 million in funding got here from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to broaden home battery manufacturing for EVs and {the electrical} grid. The $400 million funding that comprised the primary a part of its Collection C spherical was led by Porsche AG, which plans to make use of the corporate’s know-how in a few of its electrical automobiles.
Group14’s $614 million Collection C spherical catapulted it to the highest 10 of this yr’s local weather tech investments, based on PitchBook.
The newest funding comes from a consortium that features Microsoft, Lightrock Local weather Impression Fund, Moore Strategic Ventures, Oman Funding Authority and Molicel.
“Batteries have gotten the spine of the clear power transition,” stated Brandon Middaugh, director of Microsoft’s Local weather Innovation Fund, in an announcement. “Group14’s know-how reveals robust potential to speed up decarbonization of transportation, electronics, power storage and past.”
Microsoft created its $1 billion Local weather Innovation Fund in 2020 to again new applied sciences in carbon discount and removing, a lot of which may assist the corporate meet its bold objective of changing into carbon adverse by 2030. It has invested in additional than a dozen firms up to now.
Group14 was based in 2015 and launched its first commercial-scale Battery Lively Supplies manufacturing facility in Woodinville in April 2021.
It’s at the moment constructing manufacturing amenities in Japanese Washington’s Moses Lake. That location will likely be residence to 2 manufacturing modules that may produce sufficient materials to energy at the least 200,000 EVs, according to the company. Group14 can be constructing a manufacturing facility in South Korea as a part of a three way partnership with SK Inc.
“It comes right down to shortening the trail to marketplace for OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] so we are able to meet EV demand right now,” stated Rick Luebbe, CEO and co-founder of Group14, in an announcement.
The corporate is a part of a strengthening hub of battery innovation within the Pacific Northwest. That features Alameda, Calif.-based Sila Nanotechnologies, which can be constructing a facility in Moses Lake to fabricate its silicon anode supplies. Sila’s first business buyer is Mercedes-Benz.
“The market has been shifting at a breakneck tempo,” Luebbe stated, “and proper now, we’re actually at a crossroads for the way forward for electrified mobility.”