Wildcat Discovery Technologies, a developer of new battery materials, has raised $90 million in a Series D funding round led by Koch Strategic Platforms (KSP), an investment subsidiary of Koch Industries, with significant investments from Eastman Kodak and Fifth Wall Climate.
The company said that the new funding round would support the development and commercialization of its ‘super cell’ by increasing staff, research capacity, and scale–up capabilities to make the supercell commercially ready in two years.
Wildcat is developing multiple technologies to formulate an EV “supercell.” The EV “supercell” combines three Wildcat proprietary technologies currently in development, including a cobalt and nickel free high energy cathode, a composite solid-state electrolyte, and a lithium metal anode.
The supercell targets a >90% improvement in energy density over today’ batteries. Wildcat has also entered a development agreement with Kodak to develop and scale substrate coating technologies, critical for the safety and reliability of the next generation of EV battery technology.
“The Next generation of EV batteries requires innovation, resources, and unique capabilities that we are delivering with an impressive consortium of leading investors and partners. Koch and Fifth Wall Climate contribute significant financial resources and sophistication, while Eastman Kodak brings industry-leading technical and scale-up expertise to the consortium,” said Mark Gresser, CEO of Wildcat.
“This is Koch’s second investment in Wildcat, and part of nearly $1.9 billion in energy transformation investments we’ve made in the past 2 years,” said Jeremy Bezdek, Managing Director of Koch Strategic Platforms. “Wildcat is a visionary company, focusing on transformative solutions to the issues limiting the lithium-ion battery market.”
Stephens Inc. acted as financial advisor for the transaction.
According to Mercom’s Q1 2022 Funding and M&A Report for Storage, Grid, and Efficiency, total corporate funding (including VC, Debt, and Public Market Financing) in Battery Energy Storage came to $12.9 billion in 26 deals compared to $4 billion in 27 deals in Q4 2021.
