$15 M Series A funding raised by energy start-up Sicona Battery Technologies
Sicona Battery Technologies (Sicona), an Australian energy startup, announced on Wednesday that it had raised AUD 22 million ($15 million) in Series A funding. This money will be used to advance the company’s development plans in both Australia and the US.
According to a statement from Sicona, the investment was spearheaded by the Australian venture capital firm Artesian, the Indian company Himadri Speciality Chemical Ltd., and the Waratah Capital-managed Electrification & Decarbonization AIE LP fund.
The funding round included participation from Riverstone Ventures, Chaos Ventures, Investible Climate Tech Fund LP, and Club Investible.
The funds raised in this round, according to Sicona, will enable significant growth capacity in the United States between 2023 and 2024, where demand for anode materials is anticipated to exceed 1,200GWh by 2030.
“Sicona’s core product is an innovative silicon metal-based silicon-composite battery anode technology enabling more than 50 percent increase in energy density of existing Li-ion batteries,” Sicona Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Christiaan Jordaan said.
He claimed that Sicona can provide inexpensive silicon anode materials at large automotive scale locally in important markets by using silicon metal.
He added that by including one of the top specialty chemical companies in the world as a strategic investor in the company’s Series A round, the firm was able to advance toward its goal of becoming a significant manufacturer of competitive silicon composite anode materials.
He claims that Himadri has a long history of producing materials at a large scale, and their knowledge and contributions will be a significant asset to us in the upcoming stages of our growth plans.
“Our silicon metal-based technology decouples us from the major bottlenecks and cost implications of silane gas-based technologies and provides our customers the confidence that we can deliver a silicon-carbon anode material at a capital intensity and $/kg price which is feasible for mass-automotive market adoption,” he added.
Additionally, he stated that the company’s goal is to provide enabling technologies that consistently push the boundaries of battery and battery material performance and innovation.
He claimed that it aims to produce the best materials available in a scalable, economical manner in order to fuel a sustainable future.
A company called Sicona creates scalable, affordable next-generation lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery materials that are used in electric vehicles and for the storage of renewable energy.
The company’s current generation silicon-composite anode technology offers a remarkable 50 to 100% higher capacity than standard graphite anodes, and its anode materials can provide more than 50% more cell energy density than present Li-ion batteries.
