Akshat Rathi, Quartz Lithium-ion batteries are the workhorses of modern life. The batteries pack enough energy to power our smartphones and electric cars. But smartphones still die after less than a full day of use and electric cars give people “range anxiety” because, even fully charged, they can’t travel as far as a gasoline-powered car on […]
James Temple, MIT Technology Review The startup’s announcement adds to more than $1.5 billion that’s poured into the energy storage sector so far this year—roughly triple the total from the same period last year—as investors rush to lay bets on technologies that could deliver longer-lasting gadgets, cheaper electric vehicles, and cleaner power grids. Read the full article […]
ALAMEDA, CA, August 16, 2018 — Sila Nanotechnologies (“Sila Nano”), developing and manufacturing materials that set a new standard for batteries, today announced it has raised $70 Million in Series D funding, led by Sutter Hill Ventures. Additional new investors include Next47, the Siemens-backed global venture firm, and Amperex Technology Limited (ATL). Since 2011, Sila […]
Crucially, Sila’s solution can also be swapped straight into existing designs. With battery producers in Asia scrambling to increase factory capacity to prepare for the age of electric cars, Berdichevsky believes that anything not compatible with current manufacturing processes could be locked out. “If the technology doesn’t exist today that would replace lithium-ion, by the time it comes to market it will be facing an installed base of tens of millions.
Combining conversion cathodes with silicon anodes in the next generation of lithium-ion battery cells could allow cells to store more than twice as much energy as the best conventional ones by volume, and more than three times by weight
Sila Nanotechnologies has all the trappings of a typical Bay Area startup: an open floor plan, conference rooms named for Atari games, healthy snacks in the kitchen. Two Portuguese water dogs, Ångström and Lumen, rule the boss’ office.