Sila Nanotechnologies scored $45 million in funding and named two former executives of Tesla and SunPower to its executive team as ramps up production on its lithium-ion battery materials business.
Sila Technologies, the battery materials company that has partnered with BMW and Daimler, landed $45 million in new funding and hired two high-profile executives, including Kurt Kelty, who led the battery cell team at Tesla for more than a decade.
The $45 million investment from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board brings the company’s total funding to $340 million, including an earlier contribution from Daimler AG. Daimler and BMW are automotive partners.
Solar Industry Veteran Bill Mulligan and Former Tesla Battery Director Kurt Kelty Join as Company Focuses on Ramping up Production Volume
“The future of transportation will see electrification, ridesharing and autonomy all intertwined,” said Gene Berdichevsky, the CEO and co-founder of Sila Nanotechnologies, a battery materials company that has developed a silicon-based chemistry that increases battery storage by 20-40%.
Batteries are the most valuable part of an electric car – and one of the major weak points. One of the first Tesla employees has founded a new company that seeks to change that – and it is making German car manufacturers sit up and listen.