17 Battery Startups Poised to Deliver the Breakthrough Automakers Need

EV battery tech is good, but it can be better.

The current state of the art lithium-ion batteries for standard passenger vehicles offer a range of around 300 miles and charging speeds of 15 to 20 miles per minute. That's a lot better than just a few years ago, but not where it needs to be to encourage widespread adoption to address carbon emissions goals and federal electrification targets.

"The real difficulty and the technological elephant in the room is that there's really no technology currently that can deliver dramatically lower costs on the battery side and enable widespread adoption of electric vehicles," said Charlotte Hamilton, cofounder and CEO at startup Conamix. "Existing technologies are exciting, but it's very hard to get them much lower in cost. It really takes new materials before you get dramatic price reductions in electric vehicles."

Finding a replacement for cobalt — toxic and increasingly hard to obtain — is one strategy automakers and their battery partners are pursuing, but there might not be enough juice left for engineers to squeeze from standard lithium ion chemistries.

"All eyes are on silicon anodes to take us to the next level," Michelle Tokarz, vice president of partnerships and innovation at the Coretec Group, said at a March conference hosted by Argonne National Laboratory.

Using silicon at the battery anode provides a higher energy density than using graphite, potentially offering more range. But the quirk of physics that boosts its energy density also means silicon is prone to swelling, leading to cracks, an issue that Coretec and other startups are trying to solve.

So-called "solid state" lithium-based chemistries are also a good candidate to reach dealer lots sooner rather than later. They're lighter and more stable than their liquid electrolyte counterparts, using materials like ceramics or complex polymer mixtures to achieve higher energy density, faster charging, and increased longevity.

Of course, the rarity of lithium deposits keeps the cost floor high and batteries based on a more abundant element would be welcome. While more experimental, sodium is everywhere and obtaining it is more environmentally friendly. However, "currently cycling stability of high-voltage sodium-ion batteries is still not as good as state of the art production lithium-ion batteries," said Jason Zhang, a researcher at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, adding that energy density also needs to be improved.

Meet 17 companies working on new battery designs that offer the potential for better performance and lower costs.

HQ: Alameda, California

CEO: Gene Berdichevsky

Sila Nanotechnologies' claim to fame within the EV battery space is using a silicon anode instead of graphite, which is typically the basis of today's lithium-ion anodes.

Run by a former Tesla employee, the 11-year-old company improves the energy density found in today's battery chemistry and design, and allows automakers to choose the right materials for their requirements. It can also be used in existing battery manufacturing processes.

The silicon material Sila uses will eventually benefit from other innovations, such as with more iron and copper replacing nickel and cobalt in cathodes, ceramic instead of polymer separators, and improved electrolytes.

The first application of Sila's tech was in Whoop fitness bands.

HQ: Fremont, California

CEO: Harrold Rust

Founded in 2007, Enovix is developing a 3D silicon anode lithium-ion battery. Like many others, Enovix has tapped into the benefits that silicon anodes bring to a battery. Silicon anodes can store a lot more lithium than graphite can, giving a battery greater energy.

Much of Enovix's work goes beyond the chemistry of the cell itself. The 3D design has advantages, especially related to safety.

The company is working on scaling its solutions, which are currently available for eyewear, wearables, handsets, and computers, to the EV space.

HQ: Louisville, Colorado

CEO: Doug Campbell

The 11-year-old startup Solid Power is using a solid-state formula to woo automaker customers.

Solid Power's alternative to lithium-ion batteries uses sulfide-based solid electrolytes that balance conductivity and processability within an EV battery cell.

Solid Power says this decreases battery pack volume, reduces pack mass, gives longer range per battery charge, and lowers its cost.

The company went public in a $1.2 billion SPAC deal, and has been backed by auto giants Ford and BMW.

HQ: San Jose, California

CEO: Jagdeep Singh

Long backed by Volkswagen, QuantumScape's secret sauce lies in solid state lithium-metal chemistry.

QuantumScape says using a solid ceramic separator, which is nonflammable and doesn't combust, and a battery build that doesn't require an anode, which lowers cost, are two primary advantages that make its tech improve upon today's nickel manganese cobalt and LFP batteries.

QuantumScape also says cutting the graphite or silicon anode increases energy density, while eliminating lithium enables a faster-charge.

The company went public via SPAC in November 2020.

HQ: Woburn, Massachusetts

CEO: Siyu Huang

Founded in 2019, Factorial is developing a solid state technology that it says tackles the balance of energy density and range, charge, and safety.

Factorial's "electrolyte system technology" leverages a solid electrolyte material in the EV battery. This gives a battery cell safer and more reliable performance, particularly with cathode and anode materials that are high-capacity.

The company is jointly developing solid-state batteries with Hyundai and Kia for next-gen EVs. It also has agreements with Mercedes and Stellantis.

HQ: Irvine, California

CEO: Robert Rango

Enevate is licensing technology for lithium-ion cells using a silicon-dominant anode approach.

Between its Si-dominant technology and cell design, Enevate says it packs more energy into a single battery cell that using a graphite anode just can't accommodate.

With this formula, Enevate is promising ultra-fast charging, lower temperature, improved safety, and ultimately, lower cost.

The 17-year-old company, like Sila, is demonstrating its formula first in the consumer tech space, by electrifying two-wheelers. It has backing from big names like the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance.

HQ: Novi, Michigan

CEO: Mujeeb Ijaz

ONE's dual-chemistry Gemini battery can power a battery to go 600 miles or more on a single charge.

ONE says its combined chemistry uses one chemistry for energy storage (leveraging lithium, manganese, and oxygen), and another for power delivery, using lithium, iron, phosphorus, oxygen, and carbon.

It uses 60% less graphite and 20% less lithium than the industry standard. It will incorporate this tech into the BMW iX all-electric SUV.

ONE has also developed the Aries, a compact cell-to-pack architecture for a commercial vehicle LFP battery that uses more accessible materials than those in shortage. The Aries' chemistry cuts down on risk of thermal incidents, cuts out nickel and cobalt, and doesn't degrade after charging to 100% like many of today's batteries do. ONE plans on bringing this to full-scale production next year.

HQ: Woburn, Massachusetts

CEO: Qichao Hu

SES developed a "hybrid" technology that combines a high-energy-density lithium metal anode, a protective anode coating, a proprietary liquid electrolyte, and artificial intelligence.

Its Apollo lithium metal battery is still limited by size constraints, given it is the size typically needed for iPhones, but the company is working on testing and scaling it to the size necessary to power an EV.

Founded in 2012 as a spin-out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, SES has been backed by automakers like GM and Hyundai and went public with a SPAC merger.

HQ: Fremont, California

CEO: Kang Sun

Founded in 2008, Amprius makes a silicon "nanowire" anode for lithium-ion batteries.

It's all in the name of higher energy density, faster charging, and a longer life cycle of the battery.

The company is going public via SPAC this year.

HQ: Livermore, California

CEO: Sanjiv Malhotra

Sparkz's goal is manufacturing high energy-density cobalt-free, lithium-ion batteries in the US.

Founded in 2019, Sparkz's first product aims to eliminate cobalt, traditionally used in the cathode of a lithium battery. Sparkz says its tech offers twice the energy density of current cobalt-free batteries being developed in China.

Using no cobalt will also reduce the production cost of batteries, cut the use of problematic mining practices for materials, and ultimately help reduce the industry's reliance on a global supply chain.

Sparkz is also developing zero-cobalt solid-state batteries.

HQ: Sheffield, United Kingdom

CEO: James Quinn

Faradion developed a non-aqueous sodium-ion chemistry that it says provides "lithium-ion performance at lead-acid prices."

Sodium-ion cells can replace lead-acid batteries in low cost transport like e-scooters, in stationary storage applications, and in backup power systems. The tech could potentially be applied to mild-hybrid electric vehicles.

Faradion was founded in 2011 and targets improvements in cost, safety, and performance.

Earlier this year, it was bought by Reliance New Energy Solar, a subsidiary of a large private sector company in India.

HQ: Ithaca, New York

CEO: Charlotte Hamilton

In its early stages, Conamix's battery technology uses sulfur to make the cathode, or the positive electrode in the lithium-ion reaction.

While it has been a challenging chemistry to prove so far, the 8-year-old company claims sulfur is the "lowest cost and highest energy viable cathode material on the periodic table."

Using a sulfur cathode for lithium-ion batteries cuts out the need for nickel and cobalt. Sulfur is plentiful, can be sourced domestically, and is relatively inexpensive.

The company is working on meeting technical targets required for automotive applications, which could dramatically lower costs and enable widespread EV adoption.

HQ: Chicago, Illinois

CEO: Francis Wang

NanoGraf says its silicon anode technology could make EVs last about 28% longer on a single charge than they do with todays' batteries.

What makes the 10-year-old company especially unusual is that it uses a "wet chemistry process" that it says is much less expensive and scales easily when dropped into existing battery manufacturing equipment.

This tech can be integrated into the lithium-ion cells that are popular for e-bikes and used in the Tesla Model S and X.

The result is the highest-energy density cell available to date, NanoGraf says.

HQ: Redmond, Washington

CEO: Todd Peters

BrightVolt, founded in 1998, has been developing polymer electrolyte-based solid-state lithium-ion batteries.

The company says its cells require only two components, rather than three, making them easier to manufacture and that its polymer acts as a glue to help keep its batteries thin and flexible.

So far, it has attracted investment from Caterpillar Ventures, the VC arm of the construction machinery company.

HQ: Taoyüan, Taiwan

CEO: Vincent Yang

Prologium's solid state lithium ceramic battery technology is intended to store more energy and be used in various devices at a variety of temperatures.

It has raised $873 million to date, including investment from up-and-coming Vietnamese EV maker VinFast.

The company announced an agreement earlier this year to develop cells with Mercedes, which could be introduced in the automaker's test vehicles in the coming years.

HQ: Woodinville, WA

CEO: Rick Luebbe

Washington-based startup Group14 is also making a silicon composite material to replace graphite. But what makes this company stand out is its emphasis on the domestic supply chain.

The fear of not having enough material for EV batteries here in the US has dominated automaker conversations, especially this year as production of the vehicles has ramped up. So Group14 opened a domestic commercial manufacturing facility in Woodinville, near Seattle.

Group14's silicon-carbon powder delivers better performance than traditional lithium-ion batteries and is compatible with lithium and solid-state battery chemistries.

It raised $400 million in a round led by Porsche earlier this year.

HQ: Ann Arbor, Michigan

CEO: Matthew Kappers

Coretec is working specifically on novel silicon nanomaterials to place at the anode of lithium-ion batteries.

Already a player in silicon thin film and nanowire manufacturing, based on Cyclohexasilane, its liquid silicon compound used as an input in silicon manufacturing applications, Coretec is just a year into its Endurion battery project.

The company is seeking a partner to help manufacture anodes.

Andrew Han contributed reporting.