On Thursday, Andover, Massachusetts-based battery materials innovator 6K announced today it has raised $102 million in its Series D funding first close. The round was led by Koch Strategic Platforms, a subsidiary of Koch Investments Group, an investment arm of Koch Industries. Other participants included Energy Impact Partners, Albemarle, HG Ventures, and continued participation by 6K’s existing investors. The Series D proceeds will fund production expansion for premium 3D metal powders in its 6K Additive division and accelerate the deployment of cathode production plants in its 6K Energy division.
“Lithium-ion battery markets will increase tenfold in the next decade, fueled by growth in EVs, as well as supporting critical infrastructure for telecom back-up, data centers, and power plants. The fact that there is no lithium-ion battery material production on US soil is a concern for both national security and for the industries that are relying on these critical materials,” 6K CEO Aaron Bent, PhD said. “6K is the only company capable of battery material production at costs lower than Asia, while also reducing impact on the environment by 70 to 90 percent. Disruptive approaches such as this are the only viable way to repatriate this industry. The investment from Koch Strategic Platforms not only brings the capital required to fuel our growth, but equally important they bring unparalleled commitment and reach within the battery value chain.”
6K’s trademarked system, UniMelt, replaces a three-day, multi-step, high waste chemical co-precipitation (hydro-met) process with one that, according to 6K, is ultra-clean and ultra-fast (as low as 2 seconds), powered by a 6000K microwave plasma. Compared to state-of-the-art CAM plants today, 6K says its approach uses half the footprint, requires substantially lower CapEx, and half the conversion costs or less. If deployed across the 400 GWh of announced capacity by 2025, 6K says that implementing its solution for NMC811 has the potential to save billions of dollars and eliminate solid and liquid hazardous waste while reducing water usage by 90 percent and energy usage up to 70 percent.
“We have been following 6K Energy’s progress since inception and have found that 6K’s UniMelt plasma technology delivers a competitive, production process built on US soil,” said Jeremy Bezdek, managing director for Koch Strategic Platforms. “They have created a transformative battery material production and recycling eco-system, delivering a versatile technology capable of full-scale production with various chemistries. This innovation will help realize advancements in energy transformation and the battery value chain.”
The $102 million raised is the first of two funding tranches for Series D, which is expected to reach $150 million in total. With an expected close in spring 2022, 6K will add a limited group of strategic investors.
6K is working with partners throughout the EV battery supply chain with the intent to build an end-to-end solution, including its partnership with Albemarle for the sustainable production of lithium products, and Heritage/Retriev for the production of cathode from end-of-life batteries. 6K is opening a $30 million Battery Center of Excellence in August 2022 and working through site selection for its first 10-20 GWh cathode plant with production launch in early 2024.
