Stellantis N.V., through its affiliate, completed an investment round in Factorial Energy (Factorial) as part of Factorial’s Series D round of funding, together with other investors. Funding will be used to accelerate commercial production and deployment of Factorial’s solid-state battery technology that is robust and offers up to 50 percent greater driving range than current lithium-ion technology.
“Stellantis is full-speed ahead on its electrification transformation with 33 electrified models available right now, and eight battery electric vehicles coming in the next 18 months,” said Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis. “With our partners, including Factorial, we will quickly electrify our brand portfolio with safe, sustainable, and affordable solutions.”
Stellantis announced during its EV Day program in July 2021 its target of having the first competitive solid-state battery technology introduced by 2026.
“We continue to move aggressively towards our goal of delivering automotive-scale, solid-state battery technology to our customers,” said Factorial Energy CEO Siyu Huang, Ph.D. “This funding will enable us to not only advance core research and development, but also scale our team and invest in manufacturing facilities to drive commercial production.”
Factorial is constructing a state-of-the-art pilot production facility that will enable the company to scale its large format cell output and produce batteries for customer testing. The facility will be located in the New England area and the construction is scheduled to start in early 2022.
“Since we successfully developed the first 40 Amp-hour solid-state battery in 2021 it has been tested extensively,” continued Huang. “We look forward to getting batteries in the hands of our customers for strenuous testing and validation at the next level.”
Factorial’s technology offers a high level of operational safety and extends driving range up to 50 percent, addressing two key factors to broad consumer adoption. Its drop-in compatibility with existing lithium-ion battery manufacturing infrastructure reduces costs and the complexity of changing to a different battery technology for auto manufacturers. The company has Joint Development Agreements (announced in late 2021) with Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis and Hyundai, three of the top 10 global automotive manufacturers, to commercialize Factorial’s batteries.
Factorial’s advances are based on FEST™ (Factorial Electrolyte System Technology), which leverages a proprietary solid electrolyte material that enables safe and reliable cell performance with high-voltage and high-capacity electrodes at room temperature. Earlier this year, Factorial became the first to reach the 40 Amp-hour benchmark with a solid-state cell that works at room temperature, demonstrating the scalability of the FEST™ electrolyte.
SOURCE: Stellantis
