WOODINVILLE, Wash., April 13, 2021 — Group14 Technologies today announced the launch of its first commercial-scale 27,000-square foot U.S. manufacturing factory to meet demand for higher-performing lithium-silicon anode materials. The new factory, located at Group14 HQ in Woodinville, Washington, also will house a new world-class R&D center, corporate offices, and serves as the first of several planned commercial manufacturing sites that will solidify the company as a global leader in advanced energy storage technologies.
The commercial manufacturing factory is capable of producing 120 tons per year of Group14’s breakthrough lithium-silicon technology, SCC55™, which can deliver up to 50% more energy density per volume than lithium-ion batteries available on the market for automotive and consumer electronics applications. As growing appetite for EVs punctuates the need for both higher quantity and higher quality battery production, the commercial-scale factory signals Group14’s biggest step to date in establishing a domestic battery ecosystem to address lithium-ion supply-demand imbalances.
“We leveraged our team’s deep commercial manufacturing experience to prioritize process development and designing for cost from the beginning, which is key to scaling as rapidly as possible without sacrificing quality, performance and safety,” said Rick Costantino, CTO of Group14 Technologies. “The process to manufacture SCC55™ was designed from the start to be scaled quickly and efficiently, an approach that has kept us on track to bring our technology online to help power consumer electronics, electric vehicles and more — immediately.”
The commercial factory is already delivering SCC55™ to top consumer electronics and automotive manufacturers globally, leveraging the company’s recent international footprint in Asia to further its customer pipeline. Globally, battery suppliers are in the midst of the validation process of 82 Ah automotive batteries using SCC55™ as a blend or full displacement of traditional battery anodes for EV applications, the latter of which would give current EVs a massive range boost of 50% between charges at the pack level.
With its commercial production fully underway, Group14 is expanding rapidly and is expected to double in size by the end of this year, kickstarting a clean economic recovery in Washington state. Later this year, Group14 plans to break ground on its second large-scale commercial factory co-located at REC Silicon’s Moses Lake plant, enabling Group14 to reach capacity to meet global demand from the EV market.
“We built our technology for real-world impact that enables cost parity with gas-powered vehicles while reducing global reliance on fossil fuels,” said Rick Luebbe, CEO of Group14 Technologies. “This commercial factory is the first big step forward towards fulfilling our mission, and we’re excited to play our part to ensure more equitable access to cleaner electric vehicles of all forms.”
