On Friday, Group14 Technologies, a Washington state-based maker of silicon-carbon composite materials used for lithium-ion batteries, announced that it is expanding internationally with the strategic opening of new offices in Yokohama, Japan and Seoul, South Korea. According to a company announcement, the expansion will position Group14 as a key global supplier to meet increasing demand from APAC consumer electronics and electric mobility clients for high-performing lithium-silicon battery materials.
“With Asia’s dominance of the EV battery market, the decision to expand our presence internationally was an easy one for the team,” said Grant Ray, Vice President of Marketing at Group14 Technologies. “This move allows us to strengthen the relationship with our existing APAC customers and acquire new customers in the largest and fastest growing markets for consumer electronics and EVs.”
Founded in 2015 with a stated mission to enable the “electrification of everything,” Group14’s business is built around a trademarked lithium-silicon technology called SCC55, which promises to deliver dramatically more energy density per volume as global markets demand ever more high-performing lithium-ion-based storage. Specifically, Group14 says, SCC55 has five times the capacity and affords up to 50 percent more energy density than the conventional graphite used in lithium battery anodes.
“Higher-performing battery performance is the key to unlocking the electrification of everything from motorcycles to lightweight trucks,” said Group14 Technologies CEO Rick Luebbe in a statement on the expansion. “Once we enable cost-parity with internal combustion engines globally, we will see rapid acceleration of electric vehicle adoption in the years to come.”
Last December, Group14 secured $17 million in a Series B venture round led by South Korea’s SK materials, one of the world’s top manufacturers of special and industrial gases. The Series B followed previous key investments by strategic players in the global lithium-ion space. Group14’s earlier financing was led by global battery leaders including Amperex Technology Limited (ATL), the largest producer of lithium-ion batteries for consumer electronics; Japan’s Showa Denko, the world’s largest producer of graphite; Cabot Corporation, the leading producer of conductive additives; and BASF, the world’s largest chemical producer.
