While the world is waiting—and waiting—for the giant leap to solid-state batteries, a nimble step to silicon anode cells is well underway. That transitional stage includes a key ingredient made in the U.S., not China.
Sionic Energy today announced a robust battery that replaces graphite entirely, with a 100 percent silicon anode—versus the roughly five to ten percent portion found in some Teslas and other electric vehicles( EVs). The battery’s performance hinges on a patented silicon-carbon composite made by Washington-based Group14 Technologies.
Group14 plans to open a factory in Moses Lake, Wash. in the first quarter of 2025 with annual capacity for 4,000 tons of its nanostructured silicon-carbon material, called SCC55. That black powder could supply 20 gigawatt hours of cells, enough to power 100,000 to 200,000 EVs, or millions of consumer devices like phones. The two companies say silicon anodes can boost energy density by up to 50 percent versus today’s best nickel-rich batteries, and reduce EV charging times to 10 minutes or less.
“Just considering the physical realities of silicon, you’re using a fraction of the volume to get the same energy density,” said Ed Williams, the CEO and chairman of Rochester, N.Y.-based Sionic Energy. “The ions can move that much faster, so a silicon platform will be much more conducive to high performance.”
Silicon Anode Cells by the Numbers
Sionic Energy’s batteries can be manufacturerd in existing lithium-ion facilities, regardless of the battery format.Sionic Energy
Sionic is claiming the strongest performance of any silicon battery yet. That includes specific energy of at least 330 watt-hours per kilogram, a volumetric density of at least 842 watt-hours per liter, and a proven range of up to 1,200 cycles in 4 to 10 ampere-hour cell formats. By comparison, a teardown of Tesla’s top-performing, nickel-rich 4680 cell suggested specific energy ranging from 272 to 296 Wh/kg, with a volumetric density of 716 Wh/L. Sionic Energy is also verifying its battery platform in a 20 Ah cell format with a density of 370 Wh/kg and 1,000 Wh/L, but with a cycle range close to 600. Sionic intends to boost that cycle life and ship its first 20 Ah cells to customers for validation in 2025.
Critically, Group 14’s material and Sionic’s battery platform are designed for seamless “drop-in” production in existing lithium-ion facilities. “That brings the least amount of disruption, at the lowest cost, with a fast path to commercialization,” Williams said.
Sionic Energy hopes to license its intellectual property and platform. The company foresees initial applications in consumer electronics and eVOTL aviation. Most every major battery or transportation company has a silicon strategy, Williams said. He adds that some analysts might not agree, but he foresees batteries with 30-to-100 percent silicon anodes being heavily commercialized within three to five years.
“It’s not whether they’ll be using silicon, but how much and when,” Williams said. “What we can offer is a platform that is 80- to-90 percent already designed, so they can get to a high-performance battery in a fraction of the time.”
The automotive industry, whose notoriously high barriers to entry include its massive scale, does offer evidence that silicon batteries are on the cusp of breaking out. The first electric version of Mercedes’ iconic G-Class SUV, which I recently tested in a muddy off-road vineyard in France, is expected to integrate range-boosting silicon nanomaterial from Sila Technologies by 2026.
Group14’s magic powder is already being used in prototypes of the McMurtry Spéirling track car, by way of batteries from Taiwan’s Molicel. McMurtry is developing its first customer cars with “P-Series” cells that Molicel claims can charge from 0 to 100 percent in 12 minutes. That’s about one-third faster than today’s quickest-drawing EVs, including 800-volt models from Hyundai, Kia, Lucid, and Porsche. Molicel is also developing a silicon battery for production, the Series X, that it says can charge from empty to full in as little as 90 seconds.
“It blows my mind to think what this tech could open up with that kind of charge rate,” said Rick Luebbe, the CEO and co-founder of Group14.
Silicon Stacks Up Favorably to Graphite
Silicon’s promise hinges on its ability to carry five times as much energy as graphite. But mitigating physical expansion as ions shuttle through a cell has been a challenge.
Group14’s material works like a nanoscale sponge, Luebbe said, with tiny silicon particles surrounded by a scaffold of another material. The porous material lets silicon expand without damage, and the scaffolding admits lithium ions without causing harmful reactions with the electrolyte. The company also sees its amorphous silicon as a competitive edge versus crystalline forms, with the highest stability and cycle life.
SCC55 is already being used in millions of smartphones from China’s Honor, including its latest AI-driven Magic 7 Pro. And Group14 is delivering SCC55 to customers that represent 95 percent of worldwide lithium-ion battery production. In June, the company announced multi-year binding agreements for at least $300 million worth of its material, with three unnamed EV manufacturers and two consumer electronics makers in Europe, Asia, and North America.
One of those EV makers is undoubtedly Porsche AG. In 2022, the Stuttgart automaker became a lead investor in Group14 by taking a $100 million stake. In September, the U.S. Department of Energy selected Group14 to negotiate for an award of up to $200 million, part of a second set of projects through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to boost U.S. battery production. That award would help fund a silane gas plant to feed the company’s silicon operations, alleviating a critical supply bottleneck.
In South Korea, Group14’s joint venture plant with SK Inc. is ramping up another 10 gigawatts of annual capacity. Company executives say a total 30-gigawatt capacity between Washington and South Korea will make Group14 the world’s only EV-scale producer of advanced silicon materials. With China dominating global battery production and its supply chain, Luebbe said silicon tech can help U.S. suppliers make an end-run around China in a leading-edge field.
“Silicon batteries over time are going to replace lithium-ion batteries completely,” Luebbe said. “So we have the opportunity to make this a globally advantaged industry and keep that first-mover advantage as long as possible.”