Solid State Batteries Get A Vote of Confidence With $200 Million For Factorial Energy

Massachusetts, US based Solid State Battery maker Factorial Energy has raised $200 million as part of a Series D round of funding, led by Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis.

The startup said that the money will help commercialise its solid state batteries for use in EV’s and more faster.

Factorial Energy has developed a 40 Ah version of solid-state batteries in 2021, claiming that it’s the first 40 Ah solid-state battery. The next step is to build a pilot production facility for these, scheduled to start sometime this year.

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The firm also has an agreement with Hyundai for development of its solid state batteries.

Factorial Energy CEO Siyu Huang, Ph.D. said “We continue to move aggressively towards our goal of delivering automotive-scale, solid-state battery technology to our customers. This funding will enable us to not only advance core research and development, but also scale our team and invest in manufacturing facilities to drive commercial production.”

Factorial claims that  its technology offers a high level of operational safety and extends driving range up to 50 percent, addressing two key factors to broad consumer adoption. Its drop-in compatibility with existing lithium-ion battery manufacturing infrastructure reduces costs and the complexity of changing to a different battery technology for auto manufacturers. The company has Joint Development Agreements (announced in late 2021) with Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis and Hyundai, three of the top 10 global automotive manufacturers, to commercialize Factorial’s batteries.

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“Stellantis is full-speed ahead on its electrification transformation with 33 electrified models available right now, and eight battery electric vehicles coming in the next 18 months,” said Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis. “With our partners, including Factorial, we will quickly electrify our brand portfolio with safe, sustainable, and affordable solutions.”

Stellantis announced during its EV Day program in July 2021 its target of having the first competitive solid-state battery technology introduced by 2026.

Factorial’s advances are based on FEST™ (Factorial Electrolyte System Technology), which leverages a proprietary solid electrolyte material that enables safe and reliable cell performance with high-voltage and high-capacity electrodes at room temperature. Earlier this year, Factorial became the first to reach the 40 Amp-hour benchmark with a solid-state cell that works at room temperature, demonstrating the scalability of the FEST™ electrolyte.

The factorial funding around comes at an exciting time for battery technology firms, with a worldwide push to squeeze more efficiencies from Lithium ion batteries, besides an ever harder push to develop alternatives to Lithium like solid state, liquid metal or metal air batteries.