Colorado-based automotive and aircraft solid-state battery maker Solid Power Inc. has raised $ 20 million in financing.
According to a statement on Monday, investors in the Series A round included Sanoh Industrial Co. and the venture capital arm of Hyundai Motors, Samsung Electronics and Solvay SA. The funding comes about nine months after Solid Power announced an agreement with BMW to develop solid-state batteries for electric vehicles.
Solid Power positions its technology as a competitor to lithium-ion batteries that dominate the energy storage industry. Proponents say alternative battery technology may be safer than lithium-ion and can tolerate more energy, which is the key to electric vehicles, but suppliers have been struggling to transition from small-scale demonstrations to high-volume production.
Solid Power is expected to complete construction this year and will be fully operational in 2019. The plant will be able to produce about 10 MWh of battery capacity per year. Doug Campbell, CEO of Solid Power, said that this is enough for potential customers to validate the company's technology.