Sila, a battery materials company, has secured $375 million in a Series G funding round led by Sutter Hill Ventures, an existing investor, and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates. The round saw participation from new and existing investors, including Bessemer Venture Partners, Coatue, Perry Creek Capital, and others. Ardea Partners LP served as the exclusive financial advisor to Sila for its Series G round.
This funding will help accelerate the completion of the company’s Moses Lake plant in Q1 2025, enabling the delivery of its “Titan Silicon” anode material to customers by the end of 2025.
In 2021, Titan Silicon was introduced as a replacement for most graphite in a Li-ion cell. According to the company, it delivers up to a 20-25% energy density improvement over other graphite cells. Future releases of Titan Silicon are claimed to have improved up to 40%, recharge times to less than 10 minutes, and lower the $/kWh cost of batteries.
“Every automaker knows the future must be electric and realizes that the path to broader adoption isn’t through cost reduction alone. To transform the world and meet consumer expectations, the industry needs to take the next big step on battery performance and charging speeds. With Sila, automakers can deliver next-generation EVs that will win over those who expect more from their electric experience.” said Sila Co-founder and CEO Gene Berdichevsky.
According to Mercom’s Q1 2024 Funding and M&A Report for Storage & Smart Grid, VC funding for Energy Storage companies increased by 9% year-over-year, with $1.2 billion in 23 deals in Q1 2024 compared to $1.1 billion raised in 19 deals in Q1 2023.
Last Year, E-magy, a Dutch cleantech startup that develops a novel silicon material for lithium-ion batteries, raised €15 million (~$16 million) in a Series A funding round. Hydro, an industrial company in a broad range of market segments, including aluminum, energy, metal recycling, renewables, and batteries, led the funding round and was joined by Invest-NL, Rubio, SHIFT Invest, and PDENH.
