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Material science company, Forge Nano announced plans to open a battery cell factory in North Carolina, USA. To do this, the company will launch a spin-off named Forge Battery. The facility is expected to come online by 2026 and will have a capacity of one gigawatt hour.
A New Facility
The Forge Battery production plant will be built in Morrisville, North Carolina, with construction planned to begin in H1 2024. The facility requires an initial investment of USD165 million, raised from private and company funds. In June 2023, Forge Nano closed its round C equity funding raising a total of USD95 million for the factory. This will be supplemented with a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) approved by North Carolina’s Economic Investment Committee. The JDIG equates to a potential USD1.5 million dollars over 12 years, additionally Forge Battery will receive further USD6.5 from the North Carolina state.
The facility will produce both 21700 and 18650 lithium-ion cells using materials coated with Forge Nano’s Atomic Armor™ surface technology. Consequently, these cells have an expected energy density of 300Wh/kg and extended lifespans compared to present lithium-ion cell technology. Furthermore, the Atomic Armor™ is used to improve production efficiency and reduce cell costs by reducing electrolyte consumption. The company also aims to use domestically sources battery materials to further boost the domestic battery ecosystem.
Forge Nano’s Partners
In 2019, Volkswagen invested USD10 million into Forge Nano to collaborate on research efforts to produce high energy dense vehicle battery cells. Moreover, in 2022 the company partnered with synthetic graphite manufacturer Anovion to help strengthen the US’ domestic battery supply chain.
Rho’s Evaluation
North Carolina has emerged…
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Image credit: Adobe Stock
Sources: Global News Wire, Forge Nano, Forge Nano, Global News Wire