Factorial Energy has raised $200 million as part of a Series D round of funding, led by Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis - two new partners announced in November 2021.
The Massachusetts-based start-up says that the cash injection will enable it to accelerate the commercialization of its solid-state batteries.
The press release does not specify the amount invested by Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis.
Factorial Energy has developed a 40 Ah version of solid-state batteries in 2021, claiming that it's the first 40 Ah solid-state battery. The next step is to build a pilot production facility in the New England area. Construction of this site is scheduled to start in early 2022.
Once the pilot production facility is ready, Factorial Energy will be able to "to scale its large format cell output and produce batteries for customer testing."
We assume that automotive groups eagerly already await cells for tests - besides Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis, Factorial Energy partners also with Hyundai. All three manufacturers signed Joint Development Agreements with Factorial Energy.
Factorial Energy CEO Siyu Huang, Ph.D. said:
“We continue to move aggressively towards our goal of delivering automotive-scale, solid-state battery technology to our customers. 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.”
“Since we successfully developed the first 40 Amp-hour solid-state battery in 2021 it has been tested extensively. We look forward to getting batteries in the hands of our customers for strenuous testing and validation at the next level.”
Factorial Energy promises higher energy density of its batteries (vs conventional lithium-ion technology with a liquid electrolyte), which will translate into a 20-50% increase in driving range (without posting Wh/kg and Wh/l numbers).
